Statement from City Council President Sabina Matos

Regarding the Recent Uptick in Crime in the City Of Providence:

Our City has suffered five homicides in the last two weeks alone.

In the throes of a global pandemic, as we as a City wrestle with the resulting economic fallout, and as we as a nation confront centuries of systemic racism, we are witnessing widespread frustration manifesting itself in many ways.

Cities all across the country are experiencing a spike in homicides indicative of deeper-rooted issues that have led some to turn to senseless violence.

There isn’t a single agency, organization, elected official, or municipal department that can quell this surge alone.

The remedy will require a community-wide response that holistically addresses the causes and not the symptoms.

We must support our diversion programs and non-violence advocates like our City partners at the Nonviolence Institute. We must continue to work towards increasing the affordable housing stock in our City, so no parent turns to desperation to pay their rent. We must strictly adhere to mask-wearing and social distancing guidelines to help fully reopen our economy as soon as possible and get our community members back to work. We must fully commit to a long-term school turnaround plan if we want to provide our youth with new pathways for success. We must support legislation that reduces the number of firearms that end up on our streets.
We must do everything possible to pull in our most at-risk community members and instill in them a sense of purpose and dignity and not push them away when they need us most.

Violence is the manifestation of lack of resources in our community and a sad reminder that we are all connected and like the virus, requires that all of us take part in the process to eliminate it.

Sabina MatosPresident-Providence City CouncilCouncilwoman-Ward 15