Rhode Island
‘Crisis,’ or ‘best practice?’ Why advocates are split on RI’s new homeless system
RI Gov. Dan McKee discusses plans to eliminate tax on Social Security
He announced his plan to get rid of the tax on Social Security income at Edward King House Senior Center in Newport on March 16.
Last year, the state made a major change in how it helps homeless people, or people at risk of becoming homeless, find housing.
Rather than using a single phone line for people to call, on Oct. 1, 2025, the state switched to “regional access points,” or seven hubs located throughout Rhode Island designed to be one-stop shops to connect at-risk people and families with shelter and supportive services.
Five months later, are the regional access points succeeding in their mission?
That depends on whom you ask.
Advocates say regional access points not working
The advocates and volunteers who worked in the Providence area during the bitterly cold winter to ferry unsheltered people to pop-up emergency shelters say no.
Nancy Krahe, a retired Providence teacher and advocate for the Rhode Island Housing First Coalition, is one of a handful of volunteers who placed calls to regional access points, or RAPs, over the last few months.
She and others documented calls going unanswered, messages remaining unreturned and various RAPs reporting that the beds in their communities were full.
“You could have 15 people answering the phone. If there are no beds available, why are we funding a RAP?” Krahe said. “These people are giving up.”
State argues that regional access points are a best practice
The state, however, argues that RAPs are a “nationwide best practice” that serve as entry points to housing and other services, such as case management, mental health and substance-use treatment, as well as other supports.
“RAPs are structured as comprehensive, community-based service hubs that reduce system bottlenecks and improve responsiveness by offering a more accessible entry system for those experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness,” Emily Marshall, spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Housing, said in an email.
According to Marshall, “RAPs are structured as broad service hubs, better equipped to assess needs, provide referrals, and connect individuals to housing supports beyond emergency shelter, which helps individuals and families prevent homelessness before it begins,” she continued.
From October through December, shelter enrollments increased by approximately 38% from the prior year, “suggesting that more Rhode Islanders in need are successfully accessing shelter through this model,” she said.
Model relies on people physically visiting the access points
Still, Krahe and other volunteers grumble about unanswered calls and staff bouncing callers from one RAP to the next. What, they ask, if a person doesn’t have a phone or transportation to travel to a RAP?
“The reality is, even if someone answered the phone, there’s no housing,” Paula Hudson, executive director of Better Lives Rhode Island. The response callers get is “full, full, full.”
Ideally, Marshall said, individuals should physically visit a RAP instead of placing a call.
“The emphasis is on building a stronger, person-centered connection that allows staff to fully understand someone’s situation and identify the most appropriate next steps, which may not always be shelter,” she said.
She stressed that anyone in Rhode Island can seek assistance at any RAP location, and that they can access the state’s emergency shelter system by going directly to a shelter or by calling United Way’s 211 line.
“If someone is unable to travel to a site, RAP staff can coordinate with Street Outreach Teams to meet unsheltered individuals where they are, at a time and location that works for them,” she said.
She acknowledged that RAP phone lines are not staffed around the clock, but noted that they provide more hours than their predecessor, the single-line coordinated entry system that led to delays in people accessing shelter, she said.
How is the system working in Woonsocket?
At the RAP operated by Community Care Alliance in Woonsocket, messages seeking housing are forwarded by email to a handful of staff. The agency has seen 950 unique contacts since the system launched and makes “every effort” to call people back, said Michelle Taylor, vice president of social health services at Community Care Alliance.
According to Taylor, the problem with the system is that it exists in a state with a lack of affordable housing.
“There just isn’t enough housing to be had, affordable housing. The wait list is backed up. All of us are working as hard as we can,” Taylor said.
And as temperatures climb, winter shelters will close, making the situation even more dire, she said.
“There’s no more room at the inn. We can’t take anyone,” Taylor said, adding “We all have limits based on our facilities and our ability to meet the needs.”
She noted, too, that the state does not have a RAP servicing the Warwick region.
How is the system working in Westerly?
The WARM Center in Westerly is caring for people as far off as West Warwick, said Amy Santiago, the organization’s regional access point navigator. A Journal reporter’s call to the line received a response within minutes, as did the call to Woonsocket.
Santiago and another staffer take the phone home with them at night and on weekends and respond to calls well into the evening, she said.
“There’s no one who doesn’t get a call back,” Santiago said. “I try to give them a dose of hope, but I can’t give shelter I do not have.”
She’s seen the needs climb during the housing crisis due to unscrupulous landlords, and others who are decent but simply can’t afford the taxes.
“We have more homeless families in this state than ever before,” she said.
Santiago tries to locate beds for callers wherever they may be in the state, she said. They transport people to shelters and hospitals if needed and try to travel to people who don’t have a phone to provide case management.
“We take them. We all have cars,” she said.
Newport Mental Health provides RAP services
The Newport Mental Health RAP is providing services, not only to Newport and Bristol County but to anyone who calls, according to David Boscia, chief clinical director.
Data shows that 98% of the calls to the line are answered and voicemails generally receive a response within 5½ minutes, he said. The agency also operates a 24-hour crisis line.
Partaja Spann, who manages the Newport RAP, said staffers first work with callers to see if there is someone they could stay with and, if not, can sometimes offer space at their warming center. They also have access to a list of available shelter beds and can arrange to secure one and pick up and transport an individual, regardless of the location, she said.
“From my standpoint, it’s a really positive change,” Boscia said. “I’m not saying it’s perfect, but it’s much easier.”
Where are Rhode Island’s RAPs?
The state has contracted with service providers to operate the RAPs. Here’s where, how much the contract is for, and a phone number, if available:
Community Care Alliance: $246,000
Crossroads: $1.2 million
Newport Mental Health: $210,000
OpenDoors: $113,000
Shower to Empower (House of Hope): $400,000
Sojourner House: $150,000
WARM Center Inc.: $300,000
‘It’s a humanitarian crisis’
In the view of Harrison Tuttle, warming center coordinator for “Operation No One Dies” – a new effort by the Rhode Island State Council of Churches to provide beds for people in need – the RAPs aren’t working.
Volunteers reached out to various RAPs and were told “please don’t” refer people to shelters in their community, he said.
“They’re not working very well. … The state doesn’t have enough infrastructure,” Tuttle said. “There’s not enough beds.”
Tuttle would like to see all the stakeholders together in the same room “to develop a plan that meets the needs of the population.”
“I just want people to be safe,” he said. “It’s a humanitarian crisis.”
A unique Rhode Island story is headed to the big screen with cast and crew in Warwick currently filming the project.
New England filmmaker Hanna Gray Organschi’s feature directorial debut is underway in the Ocean State, telling the tale of a controversial drive-thru condom kiosk that once really existed in Cranston.
Rubber Hut has been filming on West Shore Road in Warwick since early June and now Deadline.com is reporting even more big names have joined the cast.
Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)
From the beginning actress Grace Van Patten (The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox) has been attached to the project playing Emanuella DelVecchio, a former Pan-Am stewardess who opens the condom kiosk in her Italian Catholic town and becomes a lightning rod in the community.
Big Names Join the Rubber Hut Cast
Now, additional big names like Emmy Rossum (Shameless), Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos), Ariana Greenblatt (Now You See Me, Now You Don’t), Rosemarie DeWitt (Untamed), and Fisher Stevens (Succession) have been added to the cast as well.
Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Critics’ Choice Awards; Theo Wargo/Getty Images; Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images for L’Oréal Paris; Aurore Marechal/Getty Images; Lia Toby/Getty Images; canva
Though character details are still being kept under wraps, filming is expected to continue in Warwick until late June. Some of these stars could be spotted locally soon.
READ MORE: Real Housewives of Rhode Island To Film Second Season Soon
No word on what other Rhode Island locations might be used in this production or if any further Ocean State filming will continue after the condom-kiosk scenes are through. No release date has been revealed either.
The True Story Behind the Condom Hut
Rubber Hut is the true story of a one-time photo kiosk turned condom kiosk that gained national attention in 1992. DelVecchio had the idea to paint the renovated Fotomat kiosk pink and white and exclusively sell condoms as a public health response to the AIDS crisis.
The Italian Catholic neighborhood she opened in had other ideas.
DelVecchio enraged the community with her “Condom Hut” and they protested the concept. The “Condom Hut” was also condemned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, had a rock thrown through its window and was covered in graffiti. The business closed within a year.
READ MORE: New Bedford’s Closed Down Bars That Are Impossible To Forget
Now this wild tale out of Rhode Island is getting national attention once again. Cast and crew are shooting scenes at the newly built hut to share this unique story with a whole new generation soon.
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Weird Weather Phenomena That Has Struck Massachusetts in the Last 50 Years
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — A Scottish soccer fan we first introduced you to back in March
has passed through Rhode Island on his remarkable cross-country journey.
Craig Ferguson, 22, is walking from California to Massachusetts just in time for Scotland’s first World Cup match in Foxboro on Saturday.
After more than 100 days on the road, thousands of miles walked and countless steps taken in a kilt, Ferguson’s ‘Tartan Trek’ is almost complete.
“It is such a mix of emotions now. I remember we spoke for, I believe when I was in Colorado when we last spoke,” Ferguson said as he approached Kennedy Plaza on Wednesday. “It’s such a mix of emotions thinking, ‘What am going to do when this is done? It’s so close to being over.”
Supporters greeted Ferguson in Providence during one of his final stops of a journey that started more than 3,000 miles away.
“We thought it would be a great thing to come see him, cheer him on, because it’s a fantastic thing raising money for charity,” said Stephen Nicholason, who is visiting from Glasglow for the World Cup.
“Look at this today. And all along the way, that’s been the theme to this entire thing … Scotland and America showing their support,” Ferguson said. “The Americans as well who have been following me from every step of the way.”
He started his journey at the Santa Monica Pier and after more than 100 days, he has walked nearly 3,000 miles to raise money and awareness for mental health.
Ferguson said he was inspired to go on this journey after Scotland qualified for the European Championship in 2023, and his best friend, Struan, said they should walk to the game.
“That’s the reason behind every single step that I take,” Ferguson added. “I’m doing this for every person who’s ever been affected by mental health, anyone who’s ever lost someone to suicide, anyone who’s ever suffered with mental health issues.”
Joining Ferguson on his journey is his friend Matthew, who’s been following him in an RV to make sure he is safe.
The walk has not been easy, with plenty of blisters, bad weather and other challenges along the way.
“Walking 35 to 40 miles, every single step that I take, I think would put anyone in a very tired position,” Ferguson explained. “I’d say the hardest point was probably coming across the Mojave Desert … we are not built for the desert, especially not walking in a kilt.”
Now, the end of his journey is finally in sight as he expects to arrive in Boston on Friday before watching Scotland play Haiti at Boston Stadium on Saturday.
“You’ve just got to overcome the challenges,” Ferguson said. “That’s what makes getting to moments like this and hopefully Boston so special.”
You can follow his journey on social media and donate to his cause, which supports the Scottish Action for Mental Health.
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Updated:
Good morning! Happy Wednesday! We’ll see the humidity rising through the day and it will be very humid for the next couple of days. We do have some shower chances ahead, but most of the next few days will be dry.
Dew points will rise into the 60s today…especially this afternoon. Tomorrow, with dew points in the 70s, it’ll be very humid (and the weather looks hot for Thursday, too). The dew points and thus the humidity will drop into the weekend.
INTERACTIVE RADAR: Live Pinpoint Weather 12 Radar »
“https://www.wpri.com/weather-now/weather-now-for-wed-6-10-26/” FLIGHT TRACKER
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Hour-by-hour forecast for today…
Hour by Hour // A close look at the upcoming conditions »
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“https://www.wpri.com/weather-now/weather-now-for-wed-6-10-26/” BEACH AND BOATING FORECASTS
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LOOKING AHEAD
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-Meteorologist T.J. Del Santo
T.J. Del Santo (tdelsanto@wpri.com) is the weekday morning and noon meteorologist for 12 News. Connect with him on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and Threads and BlueSky.
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