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Nov 15, 2023

City will add more benches with center armrests; homeless residents speak out

WOONSOCKET – City officials are doubling down on an initiative to install benches with center armrests, planning to add more as part of coming projects, including upgrades to the Truman Bypass near

WOONSOCKET – City officials are doubling down on an initiative to install benches with center armrests, planning to add more as part of coming projects, including upgrades to the Truman Bypass near where a homeless encampment was removed last winter.

Planning Director Michael Debroisse said during a City Council meeting last week that officials are moving ahead on ways to beautify the city, including adding more benches with center arms.

That effort has been roundly criticized by some for being anti-homeless and preventing people from resting on the benches, while others contend that they don’t see why it’s a big deal.

“Right here we show some nice park benches with center armrests, which will go in,” said Planning Director Michael Debroisse during a presentation of future new upgrades to the Truman Bypass, noting that the city will continue to plan to add more center arms to benches.

“It’s an act of violence,” said Rebuild Woonsocket Executive Director Alex Kithes in a statement last week on the bench design recently added to Social Park, calling them “anti-homeless architecture.”

“This is the newest development in the city’s, and in particular, the Baldelli-Hunt Administration’s, long string of attacks, both systemic and direct, on our unhoused neighbors,” Kithes said.

Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt, who wasn’t commenting this week, previously told media outlets that the city provides benches for residents and visitors to sit on, not to stretch out on.

A resident who shared her displeasure with the act by email to Baldelli-Hunt last week shared screenshots of the mayor’s secretary, Susan Gaulin, writing back and copying the mayor.

“Mayor Baldelli-Hunt is in receipt of your email,” wrote Gaulin. “She is wondering if you’d like to do your part to assist a homeless person by offering to take them into your home until they can find permanent housing,” she said.

“If we can’t express our concerns to our elected city officials, who are we to speak to? What is their position if not to listen to the members of the community?” said resident Allie Jette.

More than 60 people stood in line at Bouley Field on Sunday, set to receive a meal from The MAE Organization, a non-profit working with homeless individuals in the community.

The Breeze spoke to one homeless man named Shane, who became emotional as he spoke, saying he doesn’t have a spot to live.

“They come here and sleep during the day and get some rest and sleep during the nights,” he said of homeless people who frequent Social Park.

“Right now (I don’t have a spot) on top of it,” he said.

Another homeless resident, Hakim, told The Breeze that the city putting center armrests on the benches was directly intended to target the homeless, and those additions will eventually get torn off and cause “even more of a headache” for the city.

“If you want to help the homeless, have the homeless do constructive things, right?” he said.

“We get a lot of people off drugs and off the streets, if you take them away from that environment, if you put homeless people to work to make something for themselves, they’re not going to be thinking about this stuff,” he said. Hakim shared the idea of giving homeless people vouchers or even ways to help them create shelters for themselves from the ground up.

“If you do it like that, they’ll work with you, the homeless will work with you,” he said.

Christa Thomas-Sowers, program director at Safe Haven, which connects with homeless people by attending the meal program at Bouley Field and has handed out 1,000 naloxone kits in Woonsocket, said the benches in Social Park were one of the many things people had access to, especially during COVID, and removing them was a direct attack on homeless people.

“I’m grateful for any forward steps, but at the same time, all the solutions offered are not really solutions,” said Thomas-Sowers, referring to additions such as the Dignity Bus that recently made its way to the city.

Thomas-Sowers added that the way to help combat homelessness is to continue to offer affordable housing to individuals impacted, as Woonsocket has seen an influx of homelessness amongst older people, individuals with children, and those with disabilities.

“They’re more Band-aids on really significant wounds,” she said.

I have never seen such a rich view of wrongful entitlement. Since when as a society and tax payers, are we supposed to accommodate sleeping ppl in parks?! I cannot believe all the whining! Take all that energy, direct it toward getting these homeless some jobs, proper places to live, self respect, and move on. Each person is responsible for themselves as much as they can physically and mentally muster. No one owes them a thing, should they continue to be lazy and non productive. We all owe ourselves to get off the bench, get help, and be productive. Stop the whining! Be something other than a whiner! Good grief when does it end! Enough is enough. Food, shelters, clothes, meds, and now park benches. As I said long ago, many yrs later, after working with the homeless, inmates, and the poor, I saw many who had ample opportunities and chose to remain in their capacities because of all the freebies being so generously given. Tough love needs to happen a lot more.

Birdie, you took the words right out of my mouth. Since the day that I turned 15, I have been working, paying my bill, saving what I can, and living my own life. No one gave me a thing. Society in general hands out so many "freebies", and many people have no incentive to get things on their own. As you said, a park bench is not a bed. It is a place for people to sit and enjoy the views of the park, sit in a quiet place to read a book, watch their children play.

There are SO many "help wanted" signs, and more than enough low income housing throughout the city. If anyone still "chooses" to sleep on a park bench, then they are surly not taking advantage of all the help there is out there.

Wow, this is the best post I have read on this site. Good for you!!

An "Act of Violence?" A wee bit hyperbolic, wouldn't you say? Placing a simple armrest on a public bench doesn't seem to be violent to me and I daresay that the overwhelming majority of folks would agree. Is it too much to provide benches for folks who want to sit and enjoy themselves? The benches are not beds and I'm sure there are plenty of places for folks to sleep other than a public bench. This "issue" is anything but and I applaud the mayor for being the adult in the room.

Little bit of hypocrisy here. The City is creating more homeless through it's massive taxation but yet it's spitting on the people and the problems at the same time.

I would be wary to sit on any benches in the area. True story! When the castle was still open, a homeless person had defecated on top of a picnic table. I contacted a family member of the owner to be sure they were aware! Recently another homeless person defecated on the stands at Bouley Field in front of city workers. All truth here! I’m m sure there’s many more stories! Of course the arm rails won’t prevent disgusting acts but it could be a deterrent for other things.

Oh, one more thing. The entrance to the auto parts store on Clinton St reeks of urine. I hope we don’t become San Francisco

I just spent a few days last week in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is widely regarded as one of the most inclusive and multi-cultural cities in the world. I recalled the recent Woonsocket kerfuffle reported in the media, and so I noticed Vancouver's benches. Virtually every bench had dividers on them, especially those under the bus shelters. Nobody would be able to sleep on them. I doubt Vancouver's leaders or residents consider them an "act of violence" against the homeless. (Yes, Vancouver has some homelessness too.)

I 100% approve of these benches ... Parks are for EVERYONE to enjoy the park and were NEVER meant for the homeless to sleep on!!! There are plenty of jobs out there for the homeless if they want them and then they can buy their own bed like everyone else ... :)

Amen to that! I overcame poverty, worked as much as 3 separate jobs at one time, in order to buy a house, fix it, keep food on the table, and raise children. It CAN be done!

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