June 15, 2010
ALN Forum Addressed the Problem of Hunger in Rhode Island
View the Video of this Forum
The problem of hunger in Rhode Island, and Newport County in particular, was the topic of a forum held at the Martin Luther King Community Center (MLKCC) , May 27. Co-sponsored by Alliance for a Livable Newport and MLKCC, guest speaker, Andrew Schiff, CEO of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, noted the recession and high unemployment, exacerbated by the recent spring floods, have caused the number of people seeking food assistance to soar. From March 2009 to March 2010 the number of families participating in SNAP (Supplement Nutritional Assistance Program, formerly the Food Stamp program) in Newport County has increased 57%. Schiff said the Food Bank’s expenditure to purchase food has increased from $250,000 in 2006 to almost $1, 000,000 in 2010. This increase is not sustainable, he added.
4 out of 10 people in line at food pantries are parents with children at home. A 2009 study found families with children and minority group members are over represented at food pantries – 41% have children compared to 30% of all households in Rhode Island. Hunger and food insecurity has an especially negative impact on children, and Schiff explained the reimbursement rates the government gives to school systems for breakfast, lunch and after school meals is ridiculously low. He added one of the goals of the Food Bank is to encourage people to make better use of federal food aid programs such as the SNAP and school meal programs.
The other panelists confirmed the direness of the situation. Amanda Frye Leinhos, Director of the Martin Luther King Community Center, said the Center has noticed an increase in older single adults with fixed incomes seeking food assistance. The breakfast program, daily Monday though Friday, serves a variety of people from third shift workers eating before heading home, those headed off to work and whole families during school vacations and summer months when there are no school meals.
Pauline Perkins-Moye, Director of Social Services at the Florence Gray Center said her biggest concern is for the hungry “behind closed doors” - the elderly who are unable to get out to take advantage of food pantries and soup kitchens. She has a program that drives through neighborhoods to distribute food, especially fresh vegetables.
Jim Farrington, the President of the St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Joseph’s Church in Newport, coordinates the soup kitchen, food pantry and emergency fund at the church. The food pantry needs have become so significant that frequency of visits is no longer restricted, and the Emergency Fund program has grown three fold in the past year.
Each panelist noted the unique cooperation among agencies in Newport County. Leinhos added that Newport emergency food providers serve residents in each of the county’s towns and cities. All agreed no one wants to have to go to a soup kitchen or food pantry. Perkins-Moye added, “We are giving them a hand up not a hand out.”
View the Video of this Forum
May 15, 2010
Clean City Program
The Clean City Program provides services for the collection of residential solid waste, recycling, yard waste as well as litter management and graffiti mitigation. The Clean City Program oversees the solid waste collection contract currently held by Waste Management and serves as a liaison between Newport residents and Waste Management.
Clean City Solid Waste & Recycling Programs:
The Clean City Program publishes a yearly calendar that’s jam packed with information on the guidelines of curbside pickup as well as the services of the Clean City Program.
- Curbside collection allows for up to six 32-gallon barrels per week as well as three large items. Yard waste is collected on residents’ regular collection day during the designated weeks. There is no limit on the amount of recyclables that can be put out for collection each week.
- Recycling Drop off area accepts the following items for recycling:
- electronic waste (computers, TVs, monitors, etc)
- rechargeable batteries only - no alkaline – these are not hazardous and can be thrown away in your regular trash
- motor oil & filters (no antifreeze or any other hazardous liquids)
- cooking oil
- plastic bags & film
- fluorescent bulbs
- Curbside collection allows for up to six 32-gallon barrels per week as well as three large items. Yard waste is collected on residents’ regular collection day during the designated weeks.
- Special events: The Clean City Program sponsors Earth Day cleanups in April by providing bags and gloves to groups cleaning up as well as removing the litter they collect. We also hold two biannual recycling events – the Spring & Fall Recycling Day. They offer a variety of recycling vendors for residents such as electronic waste, clothing & household items, bulky plastics, books and paper shredding.
Recycling Mandates:
By law, the City of Newport must raise its current recycling rate of 22% to 35% by 2012. We also must raise our diversion rate of 20% to 50%. The 35% mandated recycling rate includes any materials collected in the blue & green bin. The 50% diversion rate adds in anything extra we can divert from the waste stream like metal & appliances, yard waste, electronic waste and anything else collected at the recycling drop off area or at special recycling events.
Litter Control & Graffiti Mitigation:
The Clean City Program oversees 250 public litter barrels and 25 recycling barrels through the city. These barrels are used as a tool to prevent trash from being littered on our streets. The Clean City Program also has a seasonal employee who regularly removes litter throughout the downtown areas such as Thames St., Broadway, Bellevue Ave. and other heavily traveled areas.
Graffiti is removed as needed from city property such as stop signs, parks and buildings. Residents are encouraged to use the graffiti report form on the Clean City Program’s website at www.cityofnewport.com/cleancity. The form is sent to the Clean City Program for removal and the police so they can write up a report. The wall at Hunter Park and underneath the Van Zandt Ave. Bridge are the hardest areas to keep clean and free of graffiti. They are continually being vandalized again after we paint over it. We are currently working with community members to coordinate a mural in these areas, which will prevent future graffiti. As mentioned at the ALN meeting, designated graffiti walls can send mixed messages to the people that are doing the graffiti. This website has a lot of information on graffiti prevention: www.graffitihurts.org/
Residents should feel that they can contact Kristin Littlefield regarding any of the above areas. I’m available by email at klittlefield@cityofnewport.com or by phone at 845-5613 (press 9 to speak to me directly).
April 20, 2010
Preserving Newport's Green Spaces
 
There will be no fan-fare or ribbon cutting at Coddington Cove on Maple Avenue, where a section of Miantonomi Park has been converted into a new Rhode Island Housing Section 8 project. RIH is currently holding a lottery for the 42 new, large family units. Anyone may apply-- - there is no preference for former Newport residents. According to RIH this is not the same subdivision as Newport Heights, so the construction company is not required to follow the guidelines and promises made to local residents.
New residents at Coddington Cove in the North End will have no yards, no playgrounds or recreational facilities, and no green space. The nearest park is over 6 blocks away and on a hot day the sun beats down on the new housing development which lacks large old trees. Residents escape to nearby malls or hang out on adjacent tree-lined streets. Youth entertain themselves by harassing local residents with loud music and poor behavior.
Alice Arredondo spoke to Scott Wheeler, Newport’s Tree Warden and a member of the North End Master Plan Steering Committee, Edward Sortwell Clement Jr., Esq., Executive Director of the Aquidneck Land Trust, Rhode Island Housing contact Jo-Ann Ryan and Paige Bronk, AICP Director of the Zoning and Planning department for the City of Newport about the need for preserving Newport’s green spaces. Miantonomi Park and its trees and bird habitats are in danger of being destroyed in order to make way for more housing. The Housing Authority has suggested that a housing project should be built along portions of the park adjacent to Girard Ave. (Comparisons can be made in the areas between Hillside Ave. and Girard Ave. using Google satellite and the City’s Master Plan.)
While other cities are planting trees and working to preserve the natural environment, Newport is cutting down old, mature, irreplaceable trees to increase the density of Section 8 housing. Years ago, when the Newport's North End Master Plan was developed there was a housing shortage, but now there are plenty of vacant homes all over Rhode Island. The planning committee’s original plan did not take into account studies by environmental scientists evaluating potential changes to the weather and bird migration patterns once mature trees are cut down.
We’d like to see a North End that tourists would feel comfortable biking and walking through. Its parks and streets could be linked to greenways in Middletown and the Norman Bird Sanctuary. Bikeways could link the North End with downtown marinas. Plenty of parking could be available where the “highway to nowhere” once stood.
March 15, 2010
More Police Protection Needed
   
photos by: Alice Arredondo
 The North End neighborhood is experiencing increased quality of life issues. These may turn into occasions for crime if residents don't act. Resident Alice Arredondo recently spoke to local Community Police Officer Piermont , Police Lieutenant William Fitzgerald, Community & Traffic Services Unit and Zoning Official Guy Weston. They discussed the extreme loud music coming from the many different cars that transit through Girard and Maple streets. Some cars drive back and forth to and from Hill Mart Market many times in one day. The market is located in a very densely populated area near CCRI, the Louis Duke Abbruzzi Little League baseball complex, Head start, the Met School and Newport Heights .These are all quiet assets to the community. Ms. Arredondo explained that along with ultra-loud music there are many loud disruptive groups of people on foot walking from other parts of the city going towards the Hill Mart. These groups scream, curse and openly use drugs and wear colors and hats consistent with known street gangs. Gang graffiti is appearing in areas where customers gather.
As fast as the noise, crowds and drugs appear, they disappear-- whenever any police are present. ALN and North End residents have asked for more police protection including walking patrols to address the current growing problems. But the Police have had trouble enforcing the noise ordinance, because currently, it is too difficult to measure the decibel level of a moving vehicle and thus prove that drivers are in violation of the city’s noise ordinance. In other communities, noise ordinances have been amended to make it possible to prosecute the drivers of loud vehicles. The Newport city council would need to address this by adopting modern methods of measuring loud noise which includes the distance at which noise can be heard.
Residents can help police by reporting any suspicious activity, noise or graffiti by calling the police department at 845-5300. No one should ever endanger themselves by confronting suspicious persons. Citizen awareness is key. Resident involvement is the only tool police have to improve the quality of life in Newport’s neighborhoods. It is important to note that many cities have stopped these kinds of problems by offering more youth activities in parks and playgrounds that are policed by community officers.
For more information email Alice
Learn more, download additional information on Graffitti and Gang Awareness:
Gang Awareness
Understanding Graffitti
Gangs and Kids
February 15, 2010
 Edward King House Center Serves Growing Population of Senior Citizens
When you flipped the calendar to 2010, you just got a year older. If you are part of the ‘baby boomer’ population, born 1946-1964, you are part of the fastest growing population. In Rhode Island, from the year 2015 – 2025, the number of people age 65+ is expected to grow 32%. Currently, the population of those over 65 in Newport alone is roughly 13%.
You don’t have to be ‘retired’ to enjoy activities and benefits geared toward this aging population. If you are over 50, the Edward King House Senior Center is here to support an active, enriching and fun culture for residents of Newport County. Located in a restored historic building, the Edward King House provides a warm, friendly environment based on the needs of today’s senior. This hub of activity takes center stage when it comes to being a resource for our community. The center provides health and wellness information sessions, clinics such as blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and vision screenings, classes to keep you moving such as yoga, tai chi, zumba, and line dancing. For those artistically inclined, there are watercolor, drawing, oil, multimedia, writing and acting classes in an inspiring environment. Club activities include walking, bridge, mahjong, cribbage, bingo, chorus and more. For those still working, hours are extended on Wednesday evenings to take advantage of the Center and all it has to offer.
Not always fun and games, the Center serves as a state meal site and for some, this may be the only meal for the day. For a $3 donation, a well portioned entree, soup, coffee, tea, milk and desert provides a nutritious, filling meal. As a community we all bear the responsibility for caring for this valued segment of our population. The King Center provides the information and referrals to specific services, but more importantly it provides a destination for those who are alone or are struggling with adapting to a new lifestyle. With over 350 people visiting the center on a weekly basis, it serves a vital role in our community. There continue to be barriers, however. Issues with transportation, lack of flexibility in the FLEX program, and prices of RIDE transportation can sometimes limit access to the programs at the Center. There are a growing number of seniors in our community who face this lack of transportation and end up being shut in. Although this issue is being addressed for the short term with members through a transportation grant from the RI Foundation, it is only a temporary solution to a growing problem.
The Edward King House Senior Center is a non-profit organization focused on its mission of providing services to Newport County’s senior population. The membership fee is $10 per year. You can view their current activities and services on their website . If you have any questions or want to get involved, please call the Executive Director, Michelle Duga at 401.846.7426.
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