Last year there was
one truly odd guest at Harrington Hall in Cranston. My homeless friend, described as " Ragged Dave " in a letter to the Providence Journal, had spent a nightmarish night there. Dave was tired of sleeping in his broken down Lincoln Town Car. Oddly enough
he was once a millionaire, related to the Alpert family here in Rhode Island. Brown University Medical School is named after this family. Dave is the only surviving blood relative of his aunt Grace Kennison Alpert. Grace died in August 2013, and is survived by her husband, Wesley Alpert, former CEO of Alpert Brothers Inc.
I wrote a letter of complaint to the Rhode Island Public Health Department about conditions at the Howard Ave. shelter. ("The shelter listed as accommodating 88 people, housed 145 the night before") They say they will quickly respond to all complaints via e-mail.
But I never heard from them. Should they not be held responsible for these deplorable conditions?
Should 71 year old Gerard Martineau (front page photo) be living there? Dave also observed a guy in a wheel chair and noted much coughing that reminded him of an old time tuberculosis ward.
Why should homeless people get less respect than convicted criminals in the nearby ACI prison?
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Ron