Published by Steve Ahlquist on December 13, 2021

On the 14th day of Sleep Out, Senator Cynthia Mendes and her running partner Matt Brown held a rally. For the past two weeks, Mendes and Brown, who are running for lieutenant governor and governor, have been sleeping in a tent outside the Rhode Island State Capitol-experiencing wind, cold, rain, and even a snow. They asked state leaders, especially Governor Daniel McGee, Speaker of the House of Representatives Joseph Shekach and Speaker of the Senate Dominique Ruglio, to spend a small portion of the state’s U.S. Rescue Program funds to ensure that all Rods The housing security of the islanders.

So far, this call to recognize the humanity of homeless Rhode Islanders has fallen on deaf ears. Before the General Assembly plans to vote on the top 10% of expenditures sometime in January, any expenditures will proceed slowly. Most of the funds will be used to help companies.

For 14 days, Senator Mendes has been joined by dozens of supporters, and many have spent the night with her in tents. Her supporters include activists, religious leaders, doctors, teachers and homeless advocates. The senator set a record tonight, with more than 100 people living in tents with her. "The basic cry is that no one should be frozen to death this winter, and no Rhode Islander should sleep outside."

"I want to be very clear," Senator Mendes said, taking up a microphone before about 200 people gathered to support the north side of the State Capitol. “Although it’s amazing to be united with so many Rhode Islanders, we shouldn’t do it. We shouldn’t be here, we shouldn’t ask the leaders of this country to prioritize human lives, we ask them not to let some people Frozen to death this winter..."

Christa Thomas Sowers runs a temporary center at Woonsocket's Community Care Alliance that focuses on harm reduction. "Currently, half of the people who walk into our door are homeless," Thomas Sowers said. "We have these people coming in every day, and most of the time I can only give a number and cannot connect them to the shelter they desperately need.

"Only today, I had to tell a mother with four children sleeping in the car that I could not help her. My colleague texted me from another room because another mother took the child to sleep. In the car, there is nothing we can do. We don’t have enough resources. We need a place to house these people..."

"They could have solved this problem in May," said Barbara Freitas, director of the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Program. "Continuum of Care wrote a letter to the governor, told him accurately, and explained in detail how to solve this problem. Do you know when we receive a response? October.

"And [response] is nonsense!"

"Just today, I saw four patients, all of whom need housing," said Dr. Nithin Paul, who practices at Woonsocket. "I can't let all four of them live in."

When his patients called the number to secure overnight accommodation, they were told that there might be a bed later. When they called back, they were told that the bed had been sent away. "Sorry, you have to spend the night outside."

"They let us fight for scars," Dr. Paul said. "It's a mess."

"It's never been a question of money," Matt Brown said. "It's never been a question of money. It's about power.

"We are working hard to make sure that no one is frozen to death this winter. But we are also here to make sure that it will not happen in the winter next year or later. All we have to do is take power from the people in [State Capitol] and take it Bring it to the people here. We will take power from those who don’t care and give it to those who take care of them for a living.”

“My mother is a CNA and she cannot make a living to support us,” said Monica Huertas, an environmental and social justice advocate. "Trust me, when I tell you that she has to work every night and she can't take certain shifts because she has no place to leave us. And when she did take over, we had to sleep outside."

"This is not just a Rhode Island issue," said Pastor Mariama White-Hammond, a minister and community activist dedicated to environmental, racial and economic justice issues. "This is a problem in our country and around the world.

"How can our most vulnerable citizens be required to wait at the end of the line?"

Senator Mendes ended the party by leading everyone to sing. After these people have eaten, set up tents, and chat, at least 100 people are going to sleep outdoors for a long, cold night.

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