Rhode Island became the first state to legalize supervised drug consumption sites in 2020, but finding an affordable location delayed its launch.
Lynn Arditi
Lynn joined The Public's Radio as health reporter in 2017 after more than three decades as a journalist, including 28 years at The Providence Journal. Her series "A 911 Emergency," a project of the 2019 ProPublica Local Reporting Network, won the Scripps Howard National Journalism Award in the radio/podcast category in 2020.
A native of New York City, she graduated from Oberlin College and landed her first journalism job at The Center for Investigative Reporting (now known as Reveal) in Washington, D.C., where she did story development for 60 Minutes. When the T.V. market imploded in 1987, the D.C. office of CIR closed and within a year she moved to Massachusetts to take a reporting job at the former Holyoke Transcript-Telegram, a small daily newspaper.
A year later, she moved to Providence, R.I. to work at The Providence Journal. There, she worked for several years as a bureau reporter covering schools and local issues, before she began covering statewide beats including higher education, the economy, housing and health care. During those years, she also honed her skills in narrative journalism, and served as chairwoman of the newspaper’s writing committee. Her work has been recognized by New England Associated Press News Executives Association and the Society of American Business Editors & Writers.
Posted inArticle, Health
EXPLAINER: How will the battle over abortion pills impact Rhode Island?
Health reporter Lynn Arditi explains what’s at stake and what Rhode Islanders need to know.
Posted inArticle, Health
Updates on coronavirus in RI and MA
For information about COVID-19 vaccinations visit C19vaccineRI.org. A list of Rhode Island’s state-run test sites and their holiday hours is available here. The Latest For a more complete archive of updates on coronavirus, click here.
Posted inArticle, Criminal Justice
Why was Mack Blackie held for 31 days for someone else’s crime?
Civil rights advocates are calling for an investigation into how Woonsocket police wound up arresting and incarcerating a 35-year-old homeless Liberian immigrant for another man’s crime.
Posted inArticle, Health
Homeless Rhode Islanders facing frigid cold and shortage of shelter beds
A dangerously cold air mass is forecast for Rhode Island and parts of Massachusetts starting Friday night and early Saturday morning
Posted inArticle, Health
RI Kids Count report: Mothers and children of color at risk
Nearly half of all children born in Rhode Island in 2020 were children of color. And the health and well-being of those children and their birth mothers are “at risk,’’ according to a report released Monday afternoon by Rhode Island Kids Count. Racial and ethnic health disparities begin prior to conception with maternal insurance coverage […]
Posted inArticle, Health
Mobile addiction treatment clinic ordered to leave Woonsocket
The City of Woonsocket has ordered a mobile health clinic licensed to dispense addiction treatment medication to leave its current location, saying it’s in violation of city zoning laws. The “cease and desist order” states that the mobile clinic operated by CODAC Behavioral Healthcare is parked in a major commercial district rather than an area […]
Posted inArticle, Health
Chasing the Fix: Peer support for people living on the street
“I’m an alcoholic. I was homeless for almost 12 years.” “I became, well, really homeless homeless when my mom died.” “Society knows you’re out there but they don’t acknowledge you.” “I started feeling like this is what my life was gonna be like for the rest of my life, just being on the streets and […]
Posted inArticle, Health
Chasing the Fix: When sobriety is not enough
Across the country, communities are dealing with a dual crisis of homelessness and addiction. For our series Chasing the Fix, health reporter Lynn Arditi chronicles one man’s struggle to regain his health and sobriety while living on the streets in Woonsocket.
Posted inArticle, Health
Chasing the Fix: Addiction treatment on wheels
Inside a converted RV discreetly labeled “Mobile Healthcare,’’ Neville Johnson looked out at an empty parking lot in Woonsocket, R.I. with growing frustration. The mobile clinic was offering medications for people addicted to opioids to relieve their cravings – and their relentless search for drugs on the streets. But nearly two hours had passed on […]
