Woonsocket Citizens Who Became Homelessness Numbered 304 in 2011

Of the 4,410 people who spent at least one night in a homeless shelter last year, 304 were from Woonsocket.

That's almost twice as many as Warwick, which has about 40,000 more residents. It's two less than Cranston - a city with nearly 30,000 more residents and 10 more than Pawtucket.

The new data comes from the Homeless Management Information System. The chairman of its committee, Eric Hirsch, a professor at Providence College, said the numbers show which communities have been hit harder than the others during the bad economy.

Many of the homeless lost their homes to foreclosure — a trend that is continuing. Woosocket, in particular, has been undergoing a lengthy bottoming-out of its real estate market. As of today, there are 114 bank-owned properties for sale in Woonsocket, according to the Rhode Island Multiple Listing Service. Houses that would have sold for more than $150,000 are being listed for as low as $70,000. Unimaginable a few years ago, but common today.

Losing 304 people to homelessness affects the city in a few ways. In foreclosure situations, taxes may go unpaid for years. People who rented leave behind vacanies that can be hard to fill and landlords have less income to spend in the local economy.

For more about the state's homeless crisis and coverage of yesterday's soup kitchen in the State House, see our story by clicking HERE.

Last residence for homeless clients 2011:

                                                                                            

City/Town    Lost to Homelessness    Percentage
Barrington                 5                         .1
Bristol                      28                        .6
Burrillville                  8                         .2
Central Falls             131                       3.0
Charlestown              11                        .3
Coventry                   43                        1.0
Cranston                  306                       6.9
Cumberland              24                         .5
East Greenwich         14                         .3
East Providence         80                        1.8
Exeter                       6                          .1
Foster                        9                         .0
Glocester                   6                          .1
Hopkinton                 13                        .3
Jamestown                13                        .3
Johnston                   39                        .9
Lincoln                      13                        .3
Little Compton            5                         .1
Middletown                43                       1.0
Narragansett              28                        .6
Newport                   166                      3.8
New Shoreham            2                         .1
North Kingstown         43                      1.0
North Providence        73                      1.6
North Smithfield           5                        .1
Pawtucket                294                      6.6
Portsmouth               38                         .9
Providence              1480                    33.6
Richmond                  16                        .4
Scituate                      9                        .0
Smithfield                  11                       .3
South Kingstown         51                     1.1
Tiverton                      6                        .1
Warren                       47                     1.1
Warwick                    160                     3.6
Westerly                    103                    2.4
West Greenwich            8                       .2
West Warwick              43                    1.0
Woonsocket                304                   6.9
Rest of New England    287                   6.5
Rest of U.S.                 398                  9.0
Outside U.S.                 41                    .9