Homelessness

Harrington Hall Homeless Shelter

Harrington Hall Shelter housing about 100 men each night in one big room.

I write with a heavy heart.  A cold wind blows out of the north and the temperature is dropping.  A few nights ago, when RI did it’s “Point in Time” count, 996 people were homeless.  So far this year, 214 families, with 385 children, have been sheltered – up from 159 last year.  Last year, in Massachusetts, 16,664 were homeless when that count was done.  (Click here for images from the RI Press Conference on

Maggie Fogarty at Homeless Memorial Day 2012

Maggie Fogarty led the Homeless Memorial Day program in front of the State House in Concord on December 21, 2012.

Ceremonies marking the past year’s homelessness-related deaths took place in eight local communities on the longest nights of the year.  “Homeless Memorial Day” events were held in Nashua and Portsmouth on December 20 and in Concord, Laconia, Keene, Newport, Manchester, and White River Junction on December 21.

Fifty people, including New Hampshire's new Episcopal Bishop, attended the program in front of the State House in downtown Concord.

racial profiling rally

PrYSM youth lead rally and march in Providence calling for an end to racial profiling.

Greetings, Friends

Late May means that it is crunch time at both the RI and MA state houses.  Months of work - hearings, letter writing, lobby visits and phone calls - are on the line.  It is also the period of time when lawmaking is at its ugliest.  To some politicians everything is reduced to horse trading.  Transparency, what little there was, is totally gone.  The merits of a bill may mean little as it becomes one of many bargining chips in a massive "game".