An often homeless 67 year old friend
of mine ( described as a " Ragged Dave " in a letter published in the
Providence Journal ) " living " in his junky Lincoln Town Car, last
year thought he might find temporary relief at Harrington Hall in
Cranston to which he was directed by some senior citizen social worker
in Warwick. He spent at least one night there . His nightmare
description of the place- AS A HAZARD TO PUBLIC HEALTH-prompted me to
send an e-mail to the Rhode Island Department of Health. I am sure I
have a copy of that communication in my blog [
http://radicalrons.blogspot.com]
A few weeks ago in the Warwick Public Library " Ragged Dave " pointed to a frequent resident of Harrington Hall, a regular public computer user at the library. The poor middle aged man was a non-stop -sick and sickening- COUGHER. As the homeless Harrington Hall man was right across from me- with his tubercular sounding chronic cough- I wondered if it would be " politically incorrect " to suggest that he wear a hospital mask while visiting a very public library.
" Ragged Dave " told me that Harrington Hall was filthy, poorly ventilated at night- a dark,decayed " old fashioned insane asylum " ....... " sounded like a tuberculosis ward ".
During the day these homeless -evicted from Harrington Hall- are everywhere PUBLIC-using the rest rooms of fast food places, on RIPTA buses.
The one PUBLIC PLACE they are not in is PUBLIC HOUSING.
The Rhode Island Department of Health never responded to my e-mail alert. Their web site says they respond to all complaints..There should be a public health nurse assigned to Harrington Hall in Cranston.
.More about Harrington Hall
["The food's not bad, but the bathrooms are awful," said longtime Harrington resident Wayne Mackie, 60. "No privacy at all."
The state recently installed new windows and exterior doors. Yet the three bathrooms have no doors on the toilet stalls. Floor tiles are cracked or missing. Black mold fills the crevices and corners. One bathroom has no toilet paper — the dispenser is bolted to the wall in the hallway instead.
"How do I say this? This is screwed up," said Sen. John Tassoni, D-Smithfield, during a recent tour of the shelter. "This is not fit for man. The people in Guantanamo Bay have better accommodations."]
A few weeks ago in the Warwick Public Library " Ragged Dave " pointed to a frequent resident of Harrington Hall, a regular public computer user at the library. The poor middle aged man was a non-stop -sick and sickening- COUGHER. As the homeless Harrington Hall man was right across from me- with his tubercular sounding chronic cough- I wondered if it would be " politically incorrect " to suggest that he wear a hospital mask while visiting a very public library.
" Ragged Dave " told me that Harrington Hall was filthy, poorly ventilated at night- a dark,decayed " old fashioned insane asylum " ....... " sounded like a tuberculosis ward ".
During the day these homeless -evicted from Harrington Hall- are everywhere PUBLIC-using the rest rooms of fast food places, on RIPTA buses.
The one PUBLIC PLACE they are not in is PUBLIC HOUSING.
The Rhode Island Department of Health never responded to my e-mail alert. Their web site says they respond to all complaints..There should be a public health nurse assigned to Harrington Hall in Cranston.
.More about Harrington Hall
["The food's not bad, but the bathrooms are awful," said longtime Harrington resident Wayne Mackie, 60. "No privacy at all."
The state recently installed new windows and exterior doors. Yet the three bathrooms have no doors on the toilet stalls. Floor tiles are cracked or missing. Black mold fills the crevices and corners. One bathroom has no toilet paper — the dispenser is bolted to the wall in the hallway instead.
"How do I say this? This is screwed up," said Sen. John Tassoni, D-Smithfield, during a recent tour of the shelter. "This is not fit for man. The people in Guantanamo Bay have better accommodations."]
 |
| A public health hazard - Harrington Hall in Cranston ? |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments that are courteous, concise and relevant are always welcome, whether or not they agree with the views expressed here or not. Profanity is not necessary. Thank you for reading “Time Enough At Last!”
Ron