Tuesday May 15, 2012, 9:39 am
That should have been done years ago, about the time Reagan cut mental health funding and turned a lot of mentally ill people out on the streets. Thank you

Tuesday May 15, 2012, 5:04 pm
Very compassionate. Very proud of the New England states.

Wednesday May 16, 2012, 11:44 am
great news, thanks Judy, hope this helps those in need

Wednesday May 16, 2012, 12:01 pm
Good for Rhode Island.

Wednesday May 16, 2012, 4:13 pm
It's about time. All the other states should follow suit.

Wednesday May 16, 2012, 4:41 pm
thx

Wednesday May 16, 2012, 4:54 pm
Homelessness can happen to anyone, at anytime--sometimes without warning. Perhaps the politicians who oppose this legislation need to find out what it's like the hard way.

Wednesday May 16, 2012, 4:57 pm
LIke I commented on another article, it's good to hear but those rights should be universal and undeniable regardless of whether a person is homeless or not. They should never be discriminated against, nobody should. All too often homeless people are wrongfully written off as being inhuman. Thanks Judy.

Wednesday May 16, 2012, 5:19 pm
good for them....

Wednesday May 16, 2012, 7:40 pm
Yes... Thank you

Wednesday May 16, 2012, 8:11 pm
Read and noted. Human rights should be for everyone. I hope the bill gets through the State Senate before they adjourn. Thanks Judy.

Wednesday May 16, 2012, 9:08 pm
It's shocking how callous some people can be toward the homeless. If we can't change attitudes, we can change the law.

Thursday May 17, 2012, 2:22 am


Noted,,,,

Thursday May 17, 2012, 4:03 am
Thanks.

Thursday May 17, 2012, 6:41 am
noted!

Thursday May 17, 2012, 6:41 am
noted!

Thursday May 17, 2012, 3:42 pm
Good for Rhode Island. Homelessness can happen to all of us - suddenly - so don't trample on the wrong people - but help where you can.

Thursday May 17, 2012, 4:53 pm
Thanks for this post.

Thursday May 17, 2012, 5:54 pm
This should be a National wide policy. But even better still would be for the 1% to pay higher taxes so we can have more equity in this society. That more affordable housing could be built, Universal Health Care so people can get the medical attention they need that might prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place, an increase in aid to Veterans as many of the homeless are Veterans, and a policy that no-one in this society is homeless unless they truly desire to be.

Also there should be a ratio of 10 to 1 or 20 to 1 that the CEO isn't paid so much more than the lowest position within the Company. Now it's 262 to 1 and even higher ratio for others. If people were paid "living wages" then that also would be better for people could afford housing that was working. Get Glass-Steagall back in so we don't have the ones on Wall Street gambling with our economy that has created more homeless.

No one is worth what some of these people are paid while others get barely anything and work hard too. For an example: At UnitedHealthGroup, it's CEO gets $17,310 per hour....no wonder your premiums are up so high and so many claims are denied.

Thursday May 17, 2012, 11:32 pm
Just think the word "homeless" wasn't even used before 1980 when we had a bad recession and Ronny Reagan came into power. Yes we had a few old, alcoholic men who lived on the streets but not young people and women and children. How bad is this going to get? Are we going to be like India where it's normal to see families living on the street? There should be laws passed to protect these people all over the world.

Friday May 18, 2012, 1:02 am
True, Dandelion. The 1% have benefitted from the rest of society, and they should give back, and share with those who have not been so fortunate. When some people have more than they need, fear kicks in, and they hoard their excess.

Patricia, when I was a child in the 1950's there was a small square near my city's downtown that was called "Bums' Park". I remember being little, riding the bus downtown, and my mom shushing me when I said, "There's Bums' Park, Mommy".

Now there is a homeless shelter tucked in a low-visibility area in the same part of town. I volunteered quite bit there a couple of years ago. There were many families there, and many more families living in their old beat up cars in the area. This is really sad. Their numbers are increasing. These people are often treated with contempt by people who are simply more fortunate. Many of these people consider themselves to be Christians.

Reagan was not at all compassionate. He took great pains to keep the homeless hidden away from the White House. When the homeless slept over sewer grates where the steam would keep them warm, Reagan was said to have installed spikes on the grates to prevent this.

Friday May 18, 2012, 10:03 am
Noted, thanks.

Friday May 25, 2012, 6:41 pm

Seem to rememember someone of whom it is written .. He had no place to lay His head.