Government
Public services and government action
Interview: Jennifer Lima is being targeted by right-wing anti-CRT conspiracy theorists
"They are spreading deliberate, outright lies and falsehoods - things that they know are not true," said North Kingstown School Committee member Jennifer Lima. "And they are deliberately trying to stoke fear. That flyer came right out and said that they want to make an example out of me. That's what they're trying to do."
Protesters object to prison tours that treat the incarcerated as zoo animals
"This is in line with the huge history of treating Black people like animals on display in a zoo," ," said Russell Jones, a member of Direct Action for Rights and Equality's Behind the Walls Committee.
Families march against police violence - "Stop beating our children!"
"A cop's duty is not to beat up a child, it's to serve and protect us."
Sayles St families report ongoing police harassment
Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE) is holding a speak out and march on Thursday, September 16 at 7pm. They will be meeting at Manton and Salmon Streets in Providence. The march will be led by "the Sayles Street and Manton Ave families whose children were brutally assaulted by police this summer."
Providence destroys homeless encampment - and people's lives
"It completely sets back the work of social service providers like ourselves. It takes months, many times, to build rapport and engage with people," said Laura Jaworski, Executive Director of the House of House CDC. "And when those camps get broken up and moved on, not only does it completely sever our relationships with people many times, but the people themselves - the human beings that are affected - have their stuff completely destroyed. It puts them back at square one and keeps them totally suppressed and marginalized and down."
Homelessness advocates erect tents on the State House lawn to be noticed
"I'm here today because I'm terrified," said Sara Melucci, Director of Rhode Island’s PATH street outreach program. "In the past year and a half my team and I have watched the number of people living outdoors grow exponentially, hitting numbers that our state has never seen before."
Legislators reiterate call for social and racially just marijuana legislation
“If we choose to legalize cannabis in RI without full restorative justice for the thousands of black and brown RIers who were targeted and imprisoned because of a racist war on drugs, we have failed," said Representative Leonela Felix.
Governor McKee's Overdose Taskforce walks out over budget cuts
Beginning in late July agencies such as Project Weber/Renew and programs like R.E.S.T. have been warned of large budget cuts totaling in the millions. Meanwhile, faith based initiatives like the IMANI Breakthrough Recovery Program are being funded by the state to the tune of $800k...
ConvergenceRI: State cuts more than $2 million in funding for recovery programs
"...in the last month, agencies that are working to deliver recovery services on the ground in Rhode Island have been hit with severe funding cuts by Rhode Island BHDDH. The agency has wielded a blunt hatchet, eviscerating and eliminating funding to numerous ongoing recovery programs..."
33 members of the RI House want Governor McKee to repeal or extend the vaccine mandate for health care workers
Science does not determine policy, politicians do. Uneducated and foolish politicians, more beholden to ideology than reality, can do enormous harm.