RI Coalition to End Homelessness: (Re)Introducing Ourselves!

From Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless to

Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness

(Pssst! Don't worry our web address, emails, social media handles, and everything else is still exactly the same!)

We are so beyond thrilled to announce our new name and logo—it has been almost 3 years in the making and to see it finally come to fruition is overwhelming in all the best ways. Back in 2018, when we began crafting the 2019-2022 Strategic Plan, we knew changing our name needed to be one of our three year goals and finally being able to share the end product with you is our greatest honor.

Why the name change? This decision didn't come lightly to us. We have been the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless for 30+ years and so the decision to change our name culminated from many important reasons and long conversations.

Reason number one: the changing lexicon. Our previous name refers to persons experiencing homelessness as “the homeless,'' which is demeaning in that it defines an individual by their housing status. We believe that people experience homelessness but are not defined by it; that is to say, a persons worth is not determined by their housing status. This shift in language has happened at a granular level at the Coalition, but our previous name did not reflect this everyday language change.

Reason number two: clarifying our work. We found that Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless was slightly misleading to the public and our constituents about what it is we exactly do as an organization. Furthermore, during the Coalition's strategic planning process we reworked our mission statement and vision. We believe that the new name, Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness, now more accurately reflects the mission and vision of the organization, which is heavily committed to both ending and preventing homelessness.

As you can see, we are also debuting a brand new logo. We are so excited, and hope you love it as much as we do. Our logo features illustrations of real homes across Rhode Island and was created for us by Susan Doyle, a professor at RISD who holds a dual MFA in painting and printmaking. We are so thank for her collaboration during this process: her time, patience, and education was invaluable to us.

Thank you for growing with us through this transition!