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GoLocalProv | News | Politician Blocked Pallet Houses, Claiming They Would Attract Sex Offenders – Now He Is Charged

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GoLocalProv | News | Politician Blocked Pallet Houses, Claiming They Would Attract Sex Offenders – Now He Is Charged


Thursday, January 11, 2024

 

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Former Cranston Republican Matthew Reilly PHOTO: Facebook

Professor Erich Hirsch of Providence College appeared on GoLocal nearly two years ago, hitting the proverbial “panic button” about the growing need for the unsheltered in Rhode Island.

He called for the state to deploy 500 pallet houses to address the emergency.

Ironically, one of the elected officials who fought against the first effort to deploy pallet houses is one of the most controversial — and now former — politicians in the state.

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That official claimed that the pallet homes would attract sex offenders; he is now facing multiple charges, including alleged sex crimes against minors.

On Thursday, the state announced an effort to develop a pallet shelter community to be operated by House of Hope and named ECHO Village. The community will feature 45 individual, free-standing one-room units, 70 square feet in size.

This is not a new strategy. In places like Eugene, Oregon, tiny houses have been used for the homeless for a decade.

In 2022, Hirsch flagged that COVID increased the number of unsheltered and rental prices are exacerbating the problem.

He is Co-Chair of the state’s Homeless Management Information System Steering Committee.

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Hirsch said the short-term and the long-term needs could be addressed in part by deploying hundreds of “pallet shelters.”

“We’re saying we need 500 of these rapidly deployable structures now for 500 people because that’s what we’re expecting very soon, and if you know, if you look at the economic impact of COVID and the rising rents there could be a few hundred more beyond that,” said Hirsch on GoLocal LIVE in May of 2022.

The estimated cost is $7.5 million for the first year with the majority of those dollars being a one-time expense. Compare this to the $16.8 million a year, paid by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to keep formerly homeless people in Rhode Island hotels.

Hirsch said the coalition is proposing locating the shelters in the state’s Pastore Complex in Cranston. 

 

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Cranston Plan Blocked

Initially, the State looked to deploy pallet homes in Cranston.

In October of 2022, then-Republican Cranston Councilman Matthew R. Reilly (R-Ward 6) called upon Governor Daniel McKee to drop his proposal to build villages of pallet housing for the homeless at the Pastore Complex in Cranston.

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“The addition of the proposed ‘homeless village’ would significantly increase the amount of registered sex offenders and homeless to an area that is already dangerously saturated,” noted Reilly. 

Reilly added, “Enough is enough. Another city can step up for once. For too many years, the City of Cranston has been taken advantage of by the State as it continues to flood more and more state facilities and services into the Pastore Complex while drastically reducing funding to the City. Additionally, Cranston has to utilize additional extensive public safety resources of fire and police needed to respond to the various facilities and buildings at the Pastore Center. This unfair obligation, with minimal state financial assistance, is a drain on our budget and takes critical public safety personnel away from servicing the rest of our city’s needs.”

The McKee administration backed off its Cranston plan.

Reilly resigned in 2023 after he was arrested and charged with multiple crimes and presently is facing drug and first-degree and second-degree child molestation sexual assault charges.                                       

Hirsch, who has researched the trends on the homeless in Rhode Island for years and has been quoted when the number has gone up or down, is a noted expert on the issue. 

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Rhode Island

Up to $5,000 reward offered for tips on who dumped emaciated dog’s body in trash bag in Rhode Island

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Up to ,000 reward offered for tips on who dumped emaciated dog’s body in trash bag in Rhode Island


Lincoln, RI – PETA is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction on cruelty charges of the person(s) responsible for dumping a dead dog at Barney’s Pond on Smithfield Avenue.

On December 14, the Lincoln Police Department responded to a report of a dead animal in a trash bag in the parking lot of the pond and discovered the body of a severely emaciated dog with visible signs of trauma. They believe the body was left between the evening of December 13 and the morning of December 14. A white Toyota RAV4 may be connected to the case and is considered a vehicle of interest.

Police are searching for this vehicle of interest, a Toyota RAV4. Photo: Lincoln Police Department

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No leads or suspects have been identified, so PETA is asking for the public’s help.

“This poor dog was apparently starved, abused, and then dumped on the side of the road like garbage,” says PETA Senior Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “There may be other animals in the perpetrator’s possession, so PETA asks anyone with information to come forward immediately—other lives may depend on it.”

Anyone with information about the deceased dog or the vehicle should contact Detective Lieutenant Brad Stewart at 401-333-8485.



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Rhode Island

The Miriam Hospital In Providence Getting Key Upgrades

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The Miriam Hospital In Providence Getting Key Upgrades


PROVIDENCE, RI — The Miriam Hospital in Providence will undergo a renovation project, which will upgrade its emergency department and inpatient units, hospital officials said Monday.

The upgrades were approved with a certificate of need from the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) based on a recommendation from RIDOH’s Health Services Council, a spokesperson for Brown University Health, which owns the hospital, said.

“Receiving this approval marks a crucial step forward in our steadfast commitment to delivering exceptional patient care and advancing medical excellence,” Miriam Hospital President Maria Ducharme said. “Our current building, now over 100 years old, can no longer adequately support the demands of modern patient care. In addition, our emergency department is a fragmented space that no longer supports efficient patient flow and the highest levels of communication we strive to deliver to those who have come to rely on us for their care. These much-needed renovations will create a safe, comfortable, environment that prioritizes the health and well-being of our community.”

Work is scheduled to begin spring 2025 and will be carried out in three phases throughout the next three years. Hospital officials said this phased approach is designed to minimize disruptions to ongoing patient care and the surrounding communities.

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The first phase will involve demolishing the hospital campus’s oldest building to create space for a new emergency department and private patient rooms. The renovation project has an estimated cost of $125 million for completion, the majority which will be funded through a centennial capital fundraising campaign.

“As a cornerstone of our community, the Miriam Hospital has always been committed to delivering exceptional care,” Brown University Health President John Fernandez said. “This investment reflects Brown University Health’s unwavering dedication to modernizing our facilities, advancing healthcare and improving outcomes for everyone we serve.”

Have a news tip? Email jimmy.bentley@patch.com.



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Rhode Island

Here’s How Much Minimum Wage Will Go Up In RI On Jan. 1

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Here’s How Much Minimum Wage Will Go Up In RI On Jan. 1


RHODE ISLAND — Minimum wage workers in Rhode Island are among about 9.2 million nationwide who will get a pay bump in 2025.

The pay raises taking effect Jan. 1 will increase worker pay by about $5.7 billion in the 21 states that are boosting the minimum wage, according to an analysis from the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank that analyzes the economic effect of policies on primarily low- and middle-income families.

In Rhode Island, the minimum wage will increase in 2025 to $15 an hour, up from $14 an hour in 2024. The tipped minimum wage stayed the same at $3.89 an hour.

The raises will increase 2025 pay for minimum wage workers in Rhode Island by about $46.5 million — or an average of $767 a year.

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About 13.6 percent of the workforce and about 65,100 Rhode Island residents are directly or indirectly affected by the minimum wage hikes. About 33,300 children — 16.1 percent of all children in Rhode Island — live in households where a minimum wage worker lives.

Nationwide, more than a quarter (25.7 percent) of workers getting a minimum wage pay increase are parents, and more than 5.8 million children live in households where an individual will receive a minimum wage hike, the analysis said.

One in five (20.4 percent) of affected workers are in families with incomes below the poverty line, and nearly half (48.5 percent) have family incomes below twice the poverty line.

Teenagers are often disproportionately likely to become minimum wage workers, the analysis said, but about 88 percent of those getting raises are adults. Among them, about half are full-time workers.

Of all adult workers getting a minimum wage bump in 2025, 41.4 percent have completed at least some education beyond a high school degree.

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In addition to Rhode Island, others among the 21 raising the minimum wage in 2025 are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, Virginia, Vermont and Washington.

In addition, about 48 cities and counties, mostly in California, Colorado and Washington, are raising wages above their state minimum wage floors.

Most minimum wage hikes taking effect Jan. 1 are a result of state laws that tie minimum wage increases to inflation. The raises are automatic in 13 of the states and effect about 56.2 percent of workers getting raises.

Have a news tip? Email jimmy.bentley@patch.com.



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