I began publicizing A Research Guide to Homelessness in RI January 2, 2023. However, it is still a work in progress, and as I find new information and receive feedback, it will be useful to have a place to record additions and changes. They will collect here.
Jan 2-3, 2023
Learned there is a Low and Moderate Income HousingCommission in the RI House of Representatives. Several of this commission's documents are interesting, I added some of them to the Organization page listing for this commission and to the Documents page. I have incorporated some references on the Organizations page to an organization chart for housing by Josh Saal sent to the commission in March 2022 (p. 3). It does not include the Interagency Council on Homelessness.
Added more articles from RI News Today from earlier in 2002, especially in Oct Nov, and Dec.
Found policies and procedures manuals for CES, HMIS, and CHF. See the Documents page.
Jan 3, 2023
I was thinking today about how complicated some of these pages are. So I added this to the About A Research Guide.... page:
In early January 2023, this guide may look messy and too complicated. There are several reasons for this. The main ones are:
- The issue is innately complicated because there are many reasons people are homeless, and they need a wide variety of assistance to get on their feet.
- The issue has overwhelmed the service providers and available permanent housing.
- State and community leaders are not all on the same page regarding strategies for reducing homelessness.
- But it is further complicated by out-of-date web pages on RI.gov, and inadequate, out-of-date explanations of the state's strategies.
- Then there are a lot of questions about all the state agencies involved - why so many? - and how they relate to each other. And, we hope, how they could collaborate more effectively.
- Funding for preventing and ending homelessness is coming from many sources, and finding a complete account is difficult on the web. So this will have to be pieced together, or maybe I'll find the magic document somewhere! Or someone will send it to me.
- Complicating things to the nth, the federal government is funding most of the programs, which come with complex regulations and requirements. Plus acronyms and odd terms like Continuity of Care and Virtual Binders.
- Human beings don't want to deal with a lot of complications, so there is resistance to sorting everything out. It's eye-crossing material that resists sound bites.
I hope in the next few months to reduce the complications, make it easier to understand what is going on, and explain a reasonable way forward.
Jan 4, 2023
Added some policies and procedures manuals and some other documents to the Documents page.
Jan 5, 2023
Added a quote to the Approaches page from a New York Times Magazine article, published online Jan 5, 2023, ‘You Have to Learn to Listen’: How a Doctor Cares for Boston’s Homeless. Lessons from Dr. Jim O’Connell’s long crusade to treat the city’s “rough sleepers.”
Added links to the recordings of hearings of the Land Use and Low and Moderate Income Housing commissions to the Organizations page.
