After the Providence City Council passed a resolution calling for Gov. Dan McKee to declare a public health emergency to combat homelessness, 46 state legislators called for the same thing. The legislators also called on the governor to address the state’s housing crisis using the resources provided by the General Assembly to the executive branch.

Though the number of unhoused people has been steadily rising, the governor has pushed back against a declaration. “I would be solving one problem by creating a new one,” he said. “I am not going to do that.

A group of Rhode Island legislators are asking Gov. Dan McKee to declare homelessness a public health emergency.

At least 46 state lawmakers signed a petition urging McKee to declare a public health emergency, which McKee said he would not do earlier this week.

The Providence City Council approved a resolution Thursday night calling on Gov. Dan McKee to declare homelessness a public health emergency.

Two days after Providence’s City Council Chambers were controversially opened to the city’s homeless population, the council was back in those same chambers demanding Gov. Dan McKee declared a public health emergency.

Even former Democratic candidate for governor – and likely 2026 contender – Helena Foulkes waded into the fray, using McKee's comments, and the ECHO Village delay, to take a swipe at the governor and call for an emergency declaration.

The Rhode Island General Assembly convened this week to begin its 2025-2026 term, with both chambers re-electing their leadership and welcoming new members. Speaker of the House K. Joseph Shekarchi and Senate President Dominick J.