Rhode Island
Razing encampments satisfies the public, hurts the homeless | Opinion
Rebecca Karb, MD, is an emergency and Street Medicine physician.
Under the guise of public health and safety, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley recently announced plans to evict people from several large tent encampments in Providence.
It is important for us to be open and transparent about this fact: forced displacement of people from encampments does nothing to end homelessness. We have seen time and again that when we break up encampments in one location, new encampments emerge in other locations. The people living in those encampments do not just disappear, and predictably end up back outside in the absence of a comprehensive plan for permanent supportive housing. Far from helpful, encampment sweeps cost money, waste valuable time and resources, and are ultimately counterproductive.
On any given night in Rhode Island there are around 1,800 people experiencing homelessness, and this number is on the rise. In the wake of the pandemic, the housing supply has dwindled (the rental vacancy rate in Providence is at a low of about 3%, far below the preferred 6% to 8% needed to defend against constant upward pressure on rental prices) and affordable housing is scarce. Providence boasts the highest rental cost increases in the country over the past year.
More: Last year, ‘pallet shelters’ looked like a quick way to provide cheap roofs. Where are they?
Meanwhile, there are only 1,125 shelter beds, with over 600 people on a waiting list. All of these factors have contributed to the rise in unsheltered homelessness (people forced to sleep in uninhabitable spaces such as tent encampments, sidewalks, parks, and abandoned buildings). The encampments seen on the sides of streets or tucked behind parks are evidence of our systemic failure to address the spiraling housing crisis.
It can be difficult to bear witness to human beings living in such inhumane conditions so close to us, and perhaps natural to want to remove from sight a reality that elicits such complicated and contradictory emotions as sadness, guilt, empathy, fear and anger. To be fair, encampments are inherently unhealthy places to live. The lack of access to running water, bathrooms, electricity, and protection from the elements all pose significant health risks.
However, encampments also offer advantages to people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. Communal living on the street provides safety, security for people’s belongings, companionship, and the sharing of pooled resources to meet basic needs. Encampments allow couples, families and pets to stay together when there are no shelter options. Encampments also allow social service and medical teams reliable and consistent access to provide services and support.
Encampment sweeps harm people experiencing homelessness and undermine the work that outreach teams have been doing to build trust and connect individuals with resources and medical care. Sweeps disrupt daily routines and force individuals to spend time, energy and money on figuring out new sleeping arrangements, re-working transportation routes, and replacing lost or damaged supplies, documents and medications. Following sweeps, individuals can become disconnected from outreach teams, lost to follow up, and derailed from often hard-fought-for treatments plans.
More: RI has a Homeless Bill of Rights. Why advocates say it needs an expansion.
For example, our Street Medicine team will need to spend valuable time and energy simply locating patients in new places, and we will inevitably lose contact with some patients with whom we have worked hard to establish trusting relationships. This compromises the quality of care we are able to provide, and ultimately leads to worse health outcomes for this already underserved population.
The high costs of these disruptions to community and safety are certainly not worth the perceived (but false) public perception that encampment sweeps are solving the problem of homelessness. It is time for our government leaders to offer real solutions in the form of an adequate supply of safe, affordable, supportive housing and low-barrier access to health care.
Until that can be offered, do not destroy the communities of care, resilience and support that people form to survive the harsh reality of homelessness and do not make it more difficult for the social service providers and medical outreach teams who are trying to serve them.
Rhode Island
Live updates from Rhode Island vs. Providence men’s basketball
WATCH: URI and Brown coaches speak postgame on Dec. 2, 2025
The Rhode Island Rams beat the Brown Bears on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025.
PROVIDENCE — Rivalry week in Rhode Island continues.
It’s the best week of the year as the state’s college basketball teams play each other and no matchup is bigger than Rhode Island vs. Providence. The Providence Journal’s Jacob Rousseau and Bill Koch are downtown today to cover the day.
Tip is set for noon at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.
It’s the 135th matchup between the in-state rivals with Providence leading the all-time series, 77-57. Rhode Island won last year’s game, 69-63, in Kingston. Rhode Island hasn’t won in Providence since Dec. 7, 2002, when it captured a 73-71 victory.
Follow along for live updates from the game!
Live updates from Rhode Island vs. Providence men’s basketball
11 a.m. — Both teams have taken the courts for warm ups now. Students have started to trickle into their sections in the AMP’s endzones. We’re just over an hour before tip in this rivalry matchup.
10:36 a.m. — Providence’s Duncan Powell is on the court warming up with a mask. The forward hasn’t played since Nov. 14 with a facial injury. Kim English said, after the Friars’ win vs. FDU, that Powell could be available today.
9:45 a.m. — We’re here bright and early at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Broadcast crew from TNT — operating as TruTV this afternoon — getting settled.
Officials for this matchup are Lamar Simpson, Greg Evans and Tim Clougherty. Simpson and Clougherty were on the whistle Friday night at Pizzitola Center, a 75-56 win for Brown over Bryant. Evans has been off since Wednesday night, a Sacred Heart road win at Mount St. Mary’s.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island fans celebrate 2026 World Cup draw at local watch party | ABC6
PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WLNE) — Friday was one of the coldest days of the year, but much of Rhode Island was focused on warmer days and soccer.
Friday afternoon, fans learned which teams will be coming to New England for the 2026 World Cup group stage in June.
“I’ve been to World Cups in the past,” Newport resident Timmy May said. “I went to see soccer games in Mexico in ‘86. I saw games in 1990 in Italy.”
And now, May will have the chance to see the World Cup in his own backyard.
Months ahead of the first matches in June, Rhode Island soccer fans gathered at their home club’s stadium in Pawtucket.
RIFC hosted a watch party as FIFA announced which teams will be coming to the United States — and New England.
With Providence set to host at least one team, residents of the Capital City made their pitch to potential visitors.
“It’s a great culture, the food’s amazing,” Providence resident Jose Olivences said. “We’ve got every culture, very diverse internationally. When we go out of state, we don’t find any food that compares to Rhode Island.”
Brazil, England, and France are among the teams set to play at Gillette Stadium.
- Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland
- Group I: France, Senegal, Winner Play-off 2, Norway
- Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama
“My parents are from Haiti,” Providence resident Akisch Lenus said. “So I’m excited. That country has been through so much, so to see them in the World Cup is amazing.”
Teams will now sort out where they’ll stay and practice when the World Cup arrives in June.
“I’m stoked. I’m super excited,” Pawtucket resident Jason McLaughlin said. “I can’t believe that it’s actually going to be at Gillette. That’s a big deal.”
Bryant University in Smithfield is one of the FIFA-approved options for base camps.
Rhode Island
Toy giant Hasbro accelerates Boston move, begins hiring for new office – The Boston Globe
The company — whose iconic brands include Monopoly, Scrabble, My Little Pony, Nerf, and Potato Head — had long been headquartered in Pawtucket, and will soon relocate operations to 400 Summer St. in Boston’s Seaport District, a 630,000 square-foot, 16-story laboratory building.
The new space will be home to at least 700 full-time employees, who are expected to fully transition from Rhode Island to Boston by the end of 2026.
A hiring push for the Boston office began in September, just after the toy maker announced it would leave its Pawtucket offices at 1027 Newport Ave. Some of the Boston postings were tagged as “company priority,” signaling urgency to fill those roles.
Hasbro’s relocation underscores the powerful allure of Boston’s vast talent pool and healthy corporate ecosystem. While Hasbro’s relocation will force Rhode Island to grapple with losing tax revenue, Pawtucket has long struggled to reinvent its downtown, which has plenty of vacant buildings, homelessness, and underperforming schools. Hasbro still owns its aging offices on Newport Avenue, and it’s unclear whether the company plans to lease or sell them, and when.
Andrea Snyder and Bertie Thomson, two spokespeople for Hasbro, could not be reached for comment. The company has not responded to state or city officials either.
“The State and City Commerce departments, in partnership with Governor [Dan] McKee’s office and Mayor [Don] Grebien’s office, have reached out to Hasbro numerous times – all calls, emails, and letters have gone unanswered,” said Grebien spokesperson Jennifer Almeida, in a statement to the Globe. “While we recognize that Hasbro is a private company and made the decision to leave, the lack of communication is frustrating.”
“We hope that Hasbro will work with us to ensure their employees are taken care of and that the property remains viable for future development,” Almeida said.
Hasbro has been located in Rhode Island since its founding in 1923 by the Hassenfeld family. One of the few publicly traded companies based in Rhode Island, it employs roughly 5,500 people worldwide.
Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.
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