McKee: Former Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket, Providence nursing home to shelter homeless

PAWTUCKET - The former Memorial Hospital has emerged as the centerpiece of the McKee administration's effort to provide 127 additional "emergency shelter beds" for Rhode Islanders experiencing homelessness.

Under the plan Gov. Dan McKee is poised to announce Thursday morning, the state will also provide funding for 20 new "quarantine and isolation" beds - at a shuttered Providence nursing home - for "housing insecure individuals and families who test positive for COVID-19."

The governor's office said more such announcements are coming, along with more details on the patchwork of state and federal dollars the McKee administration is using to secure the sites and pay for the expanded services.

"It is crucial that we provide shelter to get Rhode Islanders off the streets - now," McKee said Thursday.

"Addressing this crisis requires a combination of short-term and long-term initiatives, and today's announcement is an immediate and necessary step to help those experiencing homelessness."

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Here's what is known so far:

The Amos House will be opening what is described as a "non-congregate shelter program,'' with up to 80 beds, and separate rooms for each family, at the former Memorial Hospital. The administration anticipates families will be able to move in starting next week.

The former hospital was purchased by Lockwood Development earlier this year, for the price of a single-family home. The developer envisioned redeveloping the long-vacant property into a housing and education center for veterans.

The temporary use of the hospital for those without homes or in imminent danger of homelessness "was arranged in close collaboration" with the City of Pawtucket, Lockwood Development, and Veteran Services USA (VSUSA), according to a summary provided to The Journal in response to an inquiry.

The package announced Thursday also provides additional beds - or hotel vouchers - to the operators of existing shelters:

WOONSOCKET: Community Care Alliance has agreed to add up to 10 hotel vouchers to their existing contract in the Woonsocket area starting later this week.

EAST PROVIDENCE: The House of Hope will add 22 beds to those it currently provides at local motels.

PROVIDENCE: Open Doors has committed to expanding their current operations to add 15 beds, which are up and running as of this week.

PROVIDENCE: The opening of a new 20-bed "quarantine & isolation facility" in the former Hallworth House nursing home in Providence this week was credited to a collaboration between the Episcopal Diocese and the West Bay Community Action Program.

When the nursing home announced plans to close in June 2020, it became the first one to fail since the coronavirus pandemic began devastating Rhode Island's long-term care facilities.

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The state said the re-opening of a quarantine and isolation facility enables other homeless shelter "to restore capacity they lost due to social distancing requirements. Most notably, Crossroads anticipates it will be able to add beds at Harrington Hall in Cranston to serve housing insecure individuals."

McKee's announcement is the latest in a series, amid heightened attention at the legislative level to the dearth of affordable housing - and nightly encampments outside the State House by activists and an opposing candidate for governor - seeking to draw attention to the plight of the homeless.

The McKee administration earlier pieced together $5.1 million to provide an additional 217 winter shelter beds - and 298 overall - for people without homes.

According to the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness, 361 people were known to be unsheltered during a 14-day period that ran from November 21 through December 4.

A spokeswoman for the coalition told The Journal, the 14-day count is the most recent reflection of the number of people "unsheltered and seeking shelter."

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