A new national report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development finds chronic homelessness on the rise in Rhode Island. The state is bucking a slight national decline.
The report found the number of Rhode Island homeless on a given night increased by more than 4 percent over the last year. But the number of families and veterans experiencing homelessness dropped by about 25 and 15 percent respectively.
It is chronic homelessness that increased in RI, according to the report, which includes national data, and state by state breakdowns. The numbers come from one-night “snapshot” counts conducted by volunteers nationwide, as well as data from U.S. Housing surveys and the department of education.
Local homeless advocacy organizations have joined a national campaign known as Zero:2016 with the goal of ending chronic homelessness. One factor is access to affordable housing. This past election, Rhode Islanders voted in favor of a $50-million bond to construct more affordable units.
