Monday, May 18, 2009
By Jim Matuszek
Pawtucket Neighborhood Alliance
PAWTUCKET, PROVIDENCE - Homeless shelters thrive in the Blackstone Valley and one homeless advocate said some shelters are so good people will not be leaving any time soon as the weather gets better, especially in the tent cities.
"The tent cities are really frustrating this summer," said Normand Cartier, a former homeless person and a member of the Pawtucket Homeless Working Group. "The more I try to get people housing and away from the Crawford Street Bridge; they will not leave" Cartier said, "The homeless have things so well organized, people just want to stay."
Local and federal governments cannot get rid of the tent cities any time soon, he said. "The Division Street tent city in Pawtucket was removed because the tent "city" was under the Division bridge, city property. However, with the Crawford Street tent city being beneath Interstate Route 195, the federal government owns the property. Removal of the homeless here will take more time."
At least one of the 21 residents of the Crawford Street tent city residents is from Pawtucket, he would not say his name, but did say he was a Tolman High School graduate, class of 2004. What seems amazing is most of the homeless camp's residents are under 30 years old. Usually, a viewer expects older war veterans to occupy tent cities.
To the southeast, near India Point Park, a matching tent city, is located underneath the Point Street Route 195 overpass. Channel 10 news recently said other tent cities exist in Cranston and Johnston.
"They are well-taken care of and well fed," Cartier said. "Churches and charities in Woonsocket and Providence feed and bathe the residents." Food stacks piled up in orderly fashion await the residents each morning. Garbage and waste is frequently removed. The "Providence Journal Bulletin" recently reported 15 area churches outreach the under the bridge homeless shelters.
The Crawford Street bridge homeless have some people with talent, Cartier said. "One of the people there is a master builder who spends his days working on multi-million dollar homes. However, due to a substance problem, the builder moved from his home, into the tent city."
However, one veteran homeless Pawtucket woman, identified as Lynn, said the Providence homeless seem somewhat "soft".
"I have been homeless in Pawtucket for years," Lynn said. " The real homeless sleep in fields and under bridges, not in tents" she said, as she awaited her early morning Providence bus.
The number of homeless in Rhode Island nearly doubled since 2006, Cartier said. "I do not have the exact numbers, but I have lost count after 10,000."
Strangely enough, as the Crawford Street residents woke up, about 10 miles south, another tent city rose up from the grounds of a Warwick hotel, pedigree dogs were on for show. Some dogs were getting massages; other dogs received haircuts.
At a Rhode Island Community Food Bank meeting on Saturday, several speakers told 85 volunteers, federal government assistance for supplemental nutrition and WIC will take at least until October 1 to be fully enacted.
A University of Rhode Island professor of nutrition, Kathleen Gorman, said single adult males fell through the food stamp cracks. "Men known as single body able men could only obtain food stamps for three out of 36 months." As of April 1, the Obama administration ended that policy of denial, she said.
At least 100,000 Rhode Islanders now received food stamps, Gorman said. An average household receives $216 per month. According to the George Wiley Center in Pawtucket, the state can take up to four weeks to process food stamp applications. However, the state has added nine people to process food stamp applications.
The WIC program will finally have recipients getting fresh fruits and vegetables, Ann Barone of WIC program said. However, the new changes will not occur until October 1.
P.S. Arthur, a power point photos are available from the tent city. Jim
