To Whom it May Concern,
In many ways, Newport remains stranded in a gilded echo of the past. With breathtaking views from the Pell Bridge and Ocean Drive, the gorgeous preservation of our colonial roots, and the grandiose estates of Bellevue Avenue, it is easy to come to Newport and get lost in its natural beauty and relics of another time. However, beyond the mansions and the stunning views of the classic coast, there are communities of people struggling to find affordable childcare, housing and to put food on the table for their families each day.
At the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center, we are proud to serve and empower the residents of Newport County by alleviating these struggles to the best of our ability. It is challenging and humbling work, and we often find ourselves deeply concerned by the level of help that is in demand in our community.
Homelessness is a growing concern for us. The MLK Community Center, along with our partners, Newport Mental Health and CODAC Behavioral Healthcare, are in our second year of hosting our Overnight Warming Center, for those who do not have a bed at the McKinney Shelter or another place to sleep. During the winter months, we open our doors to people in need from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., seven days a week. Our local partners are essential to making this program viable while we continue to offer 25 programs in education, hunger relief, and a wide variety of community programs.
During the month of December, we dedicate our community room, which is where the Warming Center is facilitated, to our Santa’s Workshop program. This is also a crucial program, as it helps provide toys to over 1,300 kids in need during the holidays. During this time, temperatures start to drop, and we are unable to host the Warming Center until after the holidays. Thankfully, Fr. Kevin Beesley and St. John’s Parish opened their doors to those in need of a warm place to sleep until we were able to take over on December 28. We are very grateful to St. John’s for stepping up to help address this critical community need.
The Warming Center is an expensive, intricate program to run. We need highly trained professionals to work overnight who are prepared to deal with any emergencies or complications that may occur. These positions are staffed by our partners at CODAC and Newport Mental Health’s Rhode Island Outreach (RIO) team. Thanks to support from the Newport Police and Fire Departments, we have been able to handle any issues that have come up safely. Since our Breakfast Program runs Monday through Friday beginning at 7:30 a.m., we need a cleaner to come in and prepare the space for the program transition each morning. They only have thirty minutes to do so. It is a tight squeeze for us, but we continue to make it happen.
According to the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness, last year, there was a surge in the unhoused population in Rhode Island. There was a 35% increase as numbers rose from 1,810 in
2023 to 2,442 in 2024. While it is admittedly difficult to gather data around homelessness, unhoused people are increasingly visible in our community.
Our Partners at Newport Mental Health reported 5 people who sought their services for affordable housing in 2023. In 2024 that number grew to 40 people. At the MLK Community Center, the level of need has steadily been growing since the Pandemic. Our Breakfast Program averaged about 20 to 25 participants each morning prior to the COVID-19 crisis, and it has more than doubled with recent counts of 75 to 80 people in need of a meal each morning. Most of the people in our Breakfast Program are unhoused, and the growth we have seen over the past few years in attendance is very telling of the status of housing in our community.
Our Warming Center is not a shelter. During this winter’s first cold snap in early January, the Governor’s Office erroneously listed us as a 24/7 Warming Shelter open to the whole state. While we know there is need for these types of assistance, our Center is not equipped to provide such aid along with the 25 total programs we offer to Newport County. Those who seek shelter with the Warming Center sleep on mats on the floor with a blanket, and we only have room and staffing for 25 people. As a result of the inaccurate listing, we are at or close to capacity each night.
With less than 4% of our funding coming from federal, state or municipal support, it is a challenge to sustain programs. We want to help everyone who knocks on our door, but we simply do not have the resources to accommodate those in need beyond Newport County and continue meeting the high standards we place on our programs at the MLK Community Center.
We must bring light to the irony that tourists come from far and wide to see the extravagance of a city where many residents struggle to house and feed themselves each day. Homelessness is a complicated, ever-pressing issue in Newport County, the state of Rhode Island, and the nation. Warming Centers like ours only provide temporary relief for a much bigger problem. What can we do as a community, as a state, and as a nation to not only provide relief, but to provide an avenue for the homeless to find affordable housing, health care and potential careers? As the number of unhoused populations rises, relief will no longer be enough. Collectively, we have a crisis to solve.
This is not just a problem for Housing Hotline or any nonprofit working to help the unhoused. This is not just a problem for CODAC, Newport Mental Health, or the MLK Community Center. This is an issue for our entire community. There needs to be more conversations around what we can do to end homelessness.
Sincerely,
Heather Hole Strout
Executive Director
