The number of people experiencing homelessness in Rhode Island is on the rise, with more than 2,400 people counted in the 2024 “point-in-time” count, and roughly 7,000 expected to experience homelessness over the course of the year.
On Rhode Island PBS Weekly and the Rhode Island Report podcast, Michelle Wilcox, the new president and CEO of Crossroads Rhode Island, said the organization is building hundreds of apartments, aiming to house as many people as possible. There are 176 apartments under construction now on Summer Street, and another 35 are slated to begin soon on Pine Street, in a new building that will serve medically-vulnerable adults experiencing homelessness.
The well-known “tower” at Crossroads’ Broad Street headquarters is also set to be renovated into 80 one-bedroom apartments, a big change from the 176 single rooms currently being used to house homeless individuals there. The existing residents will move to the new Summer Street apartments next year before construction begins.
“Permanent housing is the only solution, the only real solution to homelessness,” Wilcox said. Crossroads also operates multiple emergency shelters.
With winter approaching, Rhode Island’s planned 45-unit “pallet shelter” village is still not up and running, despite initial plans to open in March. Housing Secretary Deborah Goddard said the shelters will not open by the end of the year, but are expected to open this winter after hitting multiple roadblocks with the state’s building and fire codes. (The pallet shelters are not a Crossroads project.)
Watch the PBS interview with Wilcox in the video player above. Follow Rhode Island Report podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcasting platforms, or listen to this episode in the player above.
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