New national report highlights the dangers the homeless face 

Community residents, affordable housing advocates, homeless and formerly homeless constituents came together July 25th for a candlelight vigil to spotlight the acts of violence that led to the deaths of two homeless men on the streets of Providence. The vigil was held at Cathedral Square in front of Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in downtown Providence. 

Luis Belmont, 45, died at Rhode Island Hospital March 31 of blunt head trauma after he was assaulted on Cranston Street on March 13. Milton Lyles, 68, was attacked after he intervened in a fight between two men on Broad Street in May. Lyles died in June due to the head injuries suffered from the beating.

These deaths coincide with a national report that shows these types of violent attacks are all too common around the country. The report, “Vulnerable to Hate: A Survey of Hate Crimes & Violence Committed Against the Homeless in 2013,” was released by the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) in June and showed that 18 percent of the reported attacks against the homeless resulted in death.

“The bottom line is, it is dangerous to be living on the streets,” explains Jim Ryczek, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless. “This is the third vigil we have held this year to mark the death of a Rhode Islander experiencing homeless, who has died on the streets. The biggest tragedy is these deaths can be prevented. We know how to tackle these problems of homelessness, addiction, substance abuse – we know what to do, we have the models, yet we continue to lack the public and political will to demand that we implement and fund the solutions fully.”

The report found nationally: 109 reported attacks against the homeless in 2013; 375 homicides since 1999 (nearly triple the number of homicides as a result of bias-motivated attacks than all of the other currently hate crime protected classes combined).

The report concludes, “The hope is to instigate change and ensure protection of civil rights for everyone, regardless of their economic circumstances or housing status. NCH believes violence against the homeless is a trend that will continue to grow unless there is true accountability for crimes committed. 

“Every life is worth the same,” stated Teny Gross, executive director of the Institute for the Study and Practice on Nonviolence. “Once we start saying that some lives are worth less than others we enter that slippery slope where those who are valued less are at increased danger. I pledge, and I ask that we all pledge, to ensuring that those who are homeless are as valued as everyone else in our communities.”

“The tragedy of these deaths is that it is not unexpected,” exclaimed John Freitas, outreach worker for the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project (RIHAP). “When we dismiss people because of their status we lose sight of them as human beings and that makes it easy to look away when something bad happens to them.”

Advocates pointed to the release of the newest homeless figures that show a decrease in the number of homeless Rhode Islanders for the first time since 2007 as evidence that we, indeed, can do better.

In February the 2013, annual statistics were released that showed a decrease by 9 percent in the total numbers of homeless from 4,868 in 2012 to 4,447 in 2013. It also showed decreases from 2012 to 2013 for children, families and veterans entering homelessness.

The decrease has been attributed to a combination of a recovering economy and the homeless system beginning to see the benefits of programs outlined in Opening Doors Rhode Island, the state’s plan to end homelessness.

And with last year’s funding of $750,000 for rental vouchers by the legislature, 125 of the most chronic homeless are in the process of being housed. 

Opening Doors Rhode Island outlines a plan that significantly transforms the provision of services to Rhode Islanders experiencing homelessness. Consistent with the new federal plan to end homelessness, the plan seeks to sharply decrease the numbers of people experiencing homelessness and the length of time people spend homeless.

DeeDee Williams, event emcee closed the evening by saying, “everyone deserves to live and die with dignity. We are our brother’s keeper!”

KAREN JEFFREYS is with the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless.