The Providence Police Department plans to clear out two of the city’s largest homeless encampments next week, according to a letter PPD sent to homelessness advocates and obtained by The Public’s Radio. Roughly 50 people currently live in tents in the encampments, which are off different sections of Branch Ave., according to Paula Hudson, director […]
Nina Sparling
Nina Sparling is a reporter with The Public's Radio's investigative team. She has written for outlets including The New York Times, The Paris Review, Vogue, Logic Magazine, and the Global Investigative Journalism Network. Her radio work has appeared on Marketplace, KQED, Alaska Public Media, Capital Public Radio, and with the podcast 70 Million.
Posted inHealth, Housing, Local
Why a Central Falls pediatrician decided to invest in affordable housing
Since Dr. Beata Nelken opened Jenks Parks Pediatrics in Central Falls in 2020, she has noticed a pattern. Many of the medical conditions her patients face can be traced back to the same problem: housing. “ I can treat your asthma, but how can I make a dent if you’re going home to a moldy kitchen […]
Posted inHousing, Local
Rhode Island housing advocates fear funding ‘cliff’ could force cuts to shelter beds
Shelter providers are raising alarm bells about a looming crisis in funding to combat homelessness as the number of unsheltered Rhode Islanders continues to grow. An influx of federal COVID-19 relief dollars has helped the state more than double the number of shelter beds since 2020. But that funding has dried up, and providers worry […]
Posted inHousing, Local
Fed up with pests, erratic heat, and burst pipes, these Cranston renters are launching a tenants union
After a six-foot deep trench appeared outside her front door, Melissa Potter decided to help organize the Elmwood Tenants Union. “There’s nothing covering it,” she said in late February. “There’s nothing warning that it’s here.” The trench, apparently part of ongoing construction on the apartment building in which she lives, was just her latest grievance. […]
Posted inHousing, Local
The system finding shelter for unhoused Rhode Islanders gets more calls than it can handle, report says
The hotline unhoused people can call to access shelter and housing in Rhode Island received roughly 10,000 calls a month last summer. Just four operators answered the bulk of those calls, and the people calling sometimes waited on hold for nearly three hours, according to a little-noticed report delivered to state agencies last fall. “The […]
Posted inHealth, Housing, Local
Rhode Island could lose millions in funding to repair and remove lead paint
On the second floor of a multi-family house in Central Falls in early February, Henry Severino, a construction specialist with Rhode Island Housing, was focused on doors. The damage was obvious: paint chipping off the frames, layers of old paint peeking through after years of wear and tear. “Let’s replace these doors because the kid […]
Posted inEn Español, Housing
¿Está preocupado sobre pintura con plomo en su hogar? Aquí hay algunos lugares dónde buscar ayuda.
La mayoría de las viviendas existentes en Rhode Island se construyeron antes de 1978, lo que significa que es probable que contenga pintura a base de plomo. Eso es peligroso para niños, quienes pueden sufrir consecuencias de por vida si se exponen a pintura con plomo. Nuestra serie Inquilinos en riesgo explora lo que esto […]
Posted inEn Español, Housing
Para prevenir el envenenamiento por plomo, Central Falls aumenta la presión sobre los propietarios
Los propietarios entraron al salón de usos múltiples del edificio de obras públicas de Central Falls en una calurosa noche de septiembre y se acomodaron en sillas de plástico. Los abogados de la ciudad imprimieron expedientes, apilaron archivos de casos color amarillo e instalaron una grabadora, todo aquello en preparación para la reunión mensual del […]
Posted inEn Español, Housing
En RI, se requiere que propietarios de viviendas se cercioren que sus unidades estén seguras respecto a pintura con plomo. Sin embargo ¿quién controla?
Poco antes del primer cumpleaños de su hija, Edson Pereira y su prometida Suany Ortiz se mudaron a un edificio de tres pisos en el centro de Newport. Fue el primer apartamento que la familia tenía para ellos solos. Pereira dice que en ese entonces él trabajaba en la misma calle y que sus suegros […]
Posted inHealth, Housing, Local
To prevent lead poisoning, Central Falls is turning up the heat on landlords
Property owners filtered into the multi-purpose room in the Central Falls public works building on a hot September night, settling into plastic chairs. Attorneys for the city printed off dockets, stacked up manila case files, and set up a tape recorder, all in preparation for the monthly meeting of municipal housing court. Many of the […]
