Issue Position: Affordable Housing

Issue Position

Here in Providence, we face a legacy of segregationary housing policies that have resulted in a crippling affordability crisis. Everyone deserves a warm, dry bed to sleep in. We must roll back our city's outdated housing policies. The 2004 housing law was a small step forward, but it focused on the suburbs and largely excluded Providence.

That is why Sam is working to mitigate the crisis by addressing zoning and fighting for drastically increased funding for affordable housing. He has introduced a systemic reform to Rhode Island's zoning laws to prevent housing from being abandoned. He also introduced an important protection for people living in an apartment who aren't the official leaseholder, such as live-in caretakers or family members. Currently, when the leaseholder dies, if you aren't on the lease, you have no protections, and you can be homeless the next day. Sam introduced a bill to give people in that terrible situation a right to extend the existing lease for up to three months. Most importantly, he believes that we need to put real money behind addressing this crisis.

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