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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.