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Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nashville has a housing crisis. Shutting down homeless encampments worsens it.
While it may look like progress to shut down a large homeless encampment, these closures fail to address the underlying causes of Nashville's housing crisis. On March 31, dozens of residents at Old Tent City were handed 60-day eviction notices, signed by the Office of Homeless Services (OHS) and Mayor Freddie O'Connell, stoking fear and anxiety. Without places like Old Tent City, people without housing don't just disappear. They end up in costly emergency rooms and jails, and they spread out in residential and commercial areas that are difficult for outreach workers to reach. Connecting a camp's current residents with resources and moving them into what will largely be transitional housing provides relief and life-changing opportunities for those experiencing homelessness today, but it does nothing for the people who will need a place to land tomorrow. "We'll never end homelessness until we stop the flow of people entering into it," says Dr. Beth Shinn, researcher at Vanderbilt. In February of 2025, 1,106 evictions were filed in Nashville. Across Tennessee, we lack over 3,500 year-round shelter beds for those who need them and 121,000 units of housing for extremely low income renters. 'Closing this camp is a temporary Band-Aid they're thinking is gonna solve things but it ain't,' says 'Mama V,' a resident of Old Tent City. 'Where are people gonna go?' If we take a closer look at homelessness, the real problem isn't the tents. It's the housing crisis. It's the dire lack of low income housing, abysmal tenant protections, low wages, and the failure to address decades of federal disinvestment in housing and safety nets. I was first introduced to Old Tent City in 2008 when the number of residents had ballooned to over 100 during the Great Recession. The camp itself, however, has existed since the early 1980s. The 1980s marked the beginning of mass homelessness in America − a direct result of the Reagan administration's decision to gut funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by 78%, cut food stamps and Medicaid, and dismantle social safety nets and programs. Opinion: We four diverse Tennesseans unite behind the goal of ending divisive politics We are standing on the precipice of the second wave of mass homelessness in America. Trump's administration has proposed 50% cuts to HUD which would devastate already underfunded housing programs and homeless services across the nation. Vital programs are already being slashed and Medicaid and Social Security are at risk. It is irresponsible to close Old Tent City without opening other low-barrier sites. While this camp is far from perfect, it plays a role in downtown and the broader community that we must recognize. Nashville's shelters are over capacity and it takes an average of over 150 days to obtain housing through the Coordinated Entry System. 'We see all the new people coming through,' says Mama V. 'Campsites are being bulldozed everywhere. Where are people going? They come here!' Instead of using taxpayer dollars to clearcut and fence off public spaces, we need leaders like Mayor O'Connell, OHS Director April Calvin, and City Council members to bolster the resources that already exist and ensure that everyone in our city has a place to get back on their feet. Nashville doesn't need a new $70 million park where Old Tent City currently stands. We need housing and wrap around services. We need to invest in systems and supports that reduce the number of people who are hitting the streets. When we address the underlying issues that cause homelessness in the first place, everyone benefits. And when we have enough housing and resources for all, encampments will shrink and close on their own. Rev. Lindsey Krinks is co-founder of Open Table Nashville, a homeless outreach and advocacy nonprofit, and Housing for All Tennessee, a statewide coalition on housing, homelessness, and tenants' rights. She is the author of "Praying with Our Feet: Pursuing Justice and Healing on the Streets." This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Homeless encampments provide shelter during a housing crisis | Opinion
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Homeless shelter for older adults opens in former Charlesgate nursing home in Providence
The former Charlesgate Nursing Center at 100 Randall St., Providence is shown in September 2024. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) The former Charlesgate Nursing Center in Providence reopened this week as the Rhode Island Department of Housing's first emergency shelter designed specifically for homeless adults aged 55 and up. State officials announced Thursday the opening of 16 beds at the former nursing home at 100 Randall St., with plans to eventually house about 40 older adults there by March. The shelter is managed by Amos House, a Providence nonprofit social service agency that provides services in Rhode Island for people who are hungry, homeless and in crisis. About 500 people aged 55 and older were counted across Rhode Island in 2024, according to an annual survey conducted by the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness last January. That represented roughly 20% of the 2,442 unhoused people counted last year. 'Last year, we made a strategic decision to acquire this property to better position the state to address homelessness in the long term — and we are already seeing positive results,' Gov. Dan McKee said in a statement. The state officially acquired the property last October for $6.9 million. Unhoused people 55 and older will be selected to live in the building via referral through the state's Coordinated Entry System — a calling system designed to ensure people experiencing housing insecurity have 'fair and equal access' to shelter. Those staying at the shelter will receive meals, case management, medical support, and assistance toward finding more stable housing. Meet the woman in charge of ramping up housing production in Rhode Island The state entered a contract with Amos House to operate the senior shelter on Oct. 1, 2024. Amos House will be paid $1.2 million to provide meals, case management, medical support, and housing location assistance through Sept. 30, 2025. Under the agreement, Amos House is required to provide monthly performance measurement reports on the number of people receiving emergency shelter and how many have moved to more permanent housing. 'In the midst of our state's housing crisis, certain demographics are more vulnerable due to their specific housing needs,' Amos House President and CEO Eileen Hayes said in a statement. 'Many older adults needing emergency shelter can no longer live independently because of significant medical or behavioral health challenges.' The state set out to acquire the former Charlesgate Nursing Center after its owner, Davenport Associates Ltd., closed the nursing home in May 2023, citing staffing shortages. Since its closure, the state has leased 57 rooms in the building to shelter families, with support services administered by Amos House. The department's newest leader, Acting Secretary Deborah Goddard, told WJAR in January she agreed with using Charlesgate to shelter the homeless, but did not believe the state should own the building long-term. She walked back those comments a day later. 'The state of Rhode Island made the appropriate decision to purchase Charlesgate in response to an urgent shelter demand and does not have any plans to sell the property,' Goddard told WJAR. Goddard has served as acting housing director since Dec. 2. McKee wrote to the Rhode Island Senate on Nov. 24 requesting the chamber's advice and consent over her nomination. That request was formally placed in the Senate's journal on Jan. 28, but no hearing has yet been scheduled. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
At long last, Providence pallet shelters are finally ready to open
House of Hope Executive Director Laura Jaworski speaks at the opening ceremony for ECHO Village on Feb. 11, 2025. Seated left to right are Gov. Dan McKee, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, and Acting Housing Secretary Deborah Goddard. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) The long-awaited opening of Rhode Island's first community of temporary homeless shelters was heralded with the brass and drums of a marching band Tuesday as a crowd of 200 homeless service advocates and politicians gathered at ECHO Village. Extraordinary Rendition Band, a protest marching band based in Providence, ushered in the celebration a day before the first group of residents was expected to move into the cabins arranged on a 4-acre site on Victor Street near Route 146. There are 45 cabins in all, each measuring 70 square feet. 'Today we are officially adding this to the portfolio of options for Rhode Island's homeless community,' Gov. Dan McKee told the crowd. When the project was officially announced in January 2024, the opening date was supposed to open by the end of the first quarter. Its original price tag was $3.3 million, with funding coming from State Fiscal Recovery Funds and Community Development Block Grants, as well the city of Providence. But addressing regulatory gaps in the state fire code delayed the work for a year and ultimately pushed the project over budget by $1.3 million. Laura Jaworski, executive director of House of Hope, called ECHO Village's long-awaited opening a bittersweet moment. 'It's really a strange place to be to want to mark the opening of a shelter,' Jaworski said. 'We felt it was really important because there was a lot of hard work that has gone into this project to get us to where we are today — I quite honestly believed we would never make it.' House of Hope is a Warwick-based community nonprofit that will manage the village and connect residents with supportive services including housing and benefits application assistance, job training, substance use recovery and mental health services. Each cabin has enough space to accommodate a twin bed, night stand, and shelves. They are also equipped with climate control, fire and carbon monoxide detectors, extinguishers, a locking door, and two windows. The pallet shelter village also has a community room, along with ADA-approved combination bathroom/shower facilities and a laundry room. House of Hope staff will work out of four office structures. Residents can begin to move in starting Wednesday, Jaworksi told reporters after the ceremony. Move-ins will be in waves, with groups of 10-15 people moving over the next three weeks. Individuals and couples will be selected to live at the site through the state's Coordinated Entry System — a calling system designed to ensure people experiencing housing insecurity have 'fair and equal access' to shelter. Jawroski told Rhode Island Current that priority will be given to people who have been living on the streets for the longest time. The expected length of the stay for residents is expected to last around nine months, but could vary depending on each individual's health and other circumstances and whether there is a more permanent place for them to stay, Jaworski said. Four case workers will be on site from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. 'It's gonna be an individualized process because of the state of the housing crisis here in Rhode Island,' she said. Pallet shelters are shown amid the snow on a lot located off Victor Street in Providence on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. The shelters can expect their first occupants beginning Feb. 12. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Shelving inside a pallet shelter in ECHO Village. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Each ECHO Village cabin is outfitted with a twin bed and end table. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Gov. Dan McKee surrounded by reporters after the opening ceremony for ECHO Village on Feb. 11, 2025. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) A smoke detector and sprinkler installed inside one of the ECHO Village cabins. Meeting the state's fire code was one of many factors officials blamed for the delayed opening of Rhode Island's first pallet shelter community. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Resident of ECHO Village will receive a 'wellness pac' in their cabins to provide hygiene supplies. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) A trio of pallet shelters seen along the snow. The 70-square foot cabins can house one person per unit, though a couple can share a space. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) ECHO Village has one laundry station on site.(Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Snow had been shoveled away from the front entrances to the ECHO Village pallet shelters on the day of the opening ceremony on Feb. 11, 2025. (Photo by Christopher Shea) The 70-square foot pallet shelters in ECHO Village are located near a Route 146 offramp in Providence. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) ECHO Village Unit 11 is shown. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Six pallet shelters are shown on the day of the opening of ECHO Village on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Pallet shelters are shown amid the snow on a lot located off Victor Street in Providence on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. The shelters can expect their first occupants beginning Feb. 12. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Shelving inside a pallet shelter in ECHO Village. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Each ECHO Village cabin is outfitted with a twin bed and end table. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Gov. Dan McKee surrounded by reporters after the opening ceremony for ECHO Village on Feb. 11, 2025. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) A smoke detector and sprinkler installed inside one of the ECHO Village cabins. Meeting the state's fire code was one of many factors officials blamed for the delayed opening of Rhode Island's first pallet shelter community. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Resident of ECHO Village will receive a 'wellness pac' in their cabins to provide hygiene supplies. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) A trio of pallet shelters seen along the snow. The 70-square foot cabins can house one person per unit, though a couple can share a space. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) ECHO Village has one laundry station on site.(Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Snow had been shoveled away from the front entrances to the ECHO Village pallet shelters on the day of the opening ceremony on Feb. 11, 2025. (Photo by Christopher Shea) The 70-square foot pallet shelters in ECHO Village are located near a Route 146 offramp in Providence. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) ECHO Village Unit 11 is shown. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Six pallet shelters are shown on the day of the opening of ECHO Village on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) House of Hope first began pushing for using pallet shelters during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pallet shelters are easily set up to provide emergency shelter for homeless people. Forty-five cabins manufactured by Pallet, a public benefit corporation based in Everett, Washington, were shipped and assembled last February. They sat empty as officials struggled to figure out how the cabins fit into the state's fire and building codes, which had no category for pallet shelters. Officials also couldn't treat them like campsites or dormitories. The gaps in state regulations prompted House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi to introduce legislation in January that creates a new type of emergency shelter under the state's building code called Supportive and Versatile Emergency (SAVE) units. Shekarchi's bill, which had its first committee hearing Feb. 4, would allow municipalities to be exempt from the normal fire and building codes for 180 days, so long as a city or town declares an emergency. McKee said he would sign the bill should it clear the General Assembly, though he told Rhode Island Current that as of Tuesday morning he had yet to read the legislation 'I know the speaker pretty well, he's not going to be asking for something that's unsafe,' McKeesaid. Speaking to reporters, the governor said his administration plans to regroup and fully assess what caused ECHO Village's delays to ensure similar projects aren't held up in the future. 'We're a few months behind where we wanted to be, but looking forward you have multiple years of helping people,' McKee said. Help alleviating homelessness, especially during winter months, can't come soon enough, Shekarchi said. He cited the case of Rico Timez Ramy, 48, an unhoused person who, according to the editor of the website Street Sights, regularly slept outside in the Smith Hill neighborhood and reportedly froze to death in January. 'And there are probably others we don't know about,' Shekarchi said. 'We need to do more and we need to do it better.' The Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness conducted its annual Point-In-Time count for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Jan. 28, but results aren't expected to be released until some time in the summer. At least 2,442 unhoused people across Rhode Island were counted when volunteers conducted an annual survey in late January 2024 — up 35% over the 2023 count. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
