Committee hears wide support for tougher standards on warming/cooling shelters and stronger enforcement of homeless bill of rights

Lede: Dozens of advocates, outreach workers and people who have lived outdoors told the House Committee on Municipal Government and Housing on April 2 that Rhode Island needs predictable, enforceable standards for warming and cooling shelters and stronger legal protections for people living unsheltered.

Nut graf: Two related bills drew the largest public turnout of the evening. Representative Tansey’s proposal (filed as House Bill 5953) would require municipalities and shelter operators to open designated warming or cooling centers when forecast temperatures cross defined thresholds and to provide basic items—cots, blankets, accessible sanitation and food—during prolonged extremes. Representative Stewart’s bill to amend the Homeless Bill of Rights (HB5665) would add explicit protections for people living in tents, require written policies from public safety and public works agencies, set notice rules for encampment relocations, and create a private right of action and fines for violations. Witnesses said gaps in notice and inconsistent shelter openings contributed to preventable deaths, severe frostbite and other harms during the past winter.

What witnesses told the committee: Outreach workers, public-health advocates and people with lived experience described a pattern: unreliable, piecemeal shelter availability; limited sanitation and hygiene access at encampments; and police searches or abrupt clearings that left people without notice and with lost personal documents and property. Steven Alquist, a longtime reporter on homelessness, said he has repeatedly documented evictions of encampments where belongings were thrown out and people lost irreplaceable items. Taylor Ellis of the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project said the current state law lacks enforcement mechanisms; advocates repeatedly asked for a third-party right to sue so violations could be litigated and deterred.

Shelter-triggers and logistics: Sponsor Rep. Tansey said the bill sets simple triggers: warming centers open when forecast readings fall below a “feels-like” threshold for a set duration and cooling centers open when heat index conditions exceed listed values for consecutive days. Hearing testimony urged small changes to the draft (for example, lowering the cooling trigger to 90°F given Rhode Island’s humidity), but the main theme from advocates and outreach workers was predictability: people and outreach teams need reliable information on where to go. Multiple witnesses described “word-of-mouth” and informal lists as the present norm and urged a single point of truth (municipal or state hotline, a live dashboard or an app). Representative Tansey noted 2-1-1 and municipal systems but agreed the committee should consider building a single accessible feed of verified, live open-status information.

Sanitation, notice and enforcement: The Stewart amendment would require local public safety and public works departments to adopt written policies for dealing with encampments; create notice periods and specified handling of belongings during relocations; and set penalties with funds directed to housing stabilization services. Testimony from outreach workers and public-health volunteers stressed that access to toilets, showers and trash pickup reduces public-health risks, prevents infections that can become limb-threatening, and helps people engage with housing and medical systems.

Opposition and operational concerns: No organized opposition surfaced at the hearing; rather testimony focused on practical implementation questions (staffing, funding, transportation for people to reach shelter sites, and realistic standards for notice in complex encampments). Several witnesses urged state support for municipalities to staff 24/7 centers or to fund non-profit operators during heat waves and cold snaps.

Next steps: Sponsors asked the committee to move the bills forward so details can be refined with emergency management and shelter operators. Lawmakers repeatedly urged agencies to compile and publish real-time shelter availability and to coordinate outreach teams, EMS, and municipal operations in any final language. Advocates said the bills should be paired with longer-term housing investments; sponsors and advocates said both policy tracks must proceed in parallel.

Ending: Witnesses closed by urging urgency: several people who testified said they had personally known neighbors who died or suffered amputations after being discharged to the street. Committee staff said they would work with sponsors and stakeholders on implementation language and with emergency management staff to ensure triggers align with operational capabilities.