Nicole Lagace, of Providence, at right, stands with others in front of Benificent Church as they hold photos to symbolize the potential homeless. They say the number of homeless is increasing and exceeds the capacity of the state’s shelters.

The Providence Journal / Andrew Dickerman

PROVIDENCE — A state plan to house the homeless this winter is woefully inadequate and could lead to deaths when the weather gets colder, advocates said Tuesday.

“Every winter we don’t have enough beds for the homeless, but this year we have a crisis in our midst,” said Jim Ryczek, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless.

Speaking at a rally at Beneficent Congregational Church, Ryczek and others urged Governor Carcieri to act quickly to find more beds, apartments and transportation for a growing homeless population.

According to the coalition, the number of homeless men, women and children in the state has more than doubled in the last two years, to 1,518 in October 2009, from 664 in October 2007.

In response, the state Monday increased the number of beds for the homeless by 88, for a total of 527 beds in more than a dozen places, from Woonsocket to Westerly.

The Office of Housing and Community Development approved funding for 58 winter beds. Another 30 were provided by Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, the Diocese of Providence and United Way of Rhode Island, said Noreen Shawcross, the state’s housing and community development chief.

The increase is significant, said Amy Kempe, a spokeswoman for Governor Carcieri. Massachusetts recently cut funding for 500 beds, she said.

But Ryczek said the plan, at best, falls short.

According to Ryczek, the coalition on Oct. 29 surveyed the state’s emergency shelters and found them filled beyond capacity. They also found 167 people living outside, a conservative number “because we can’t possibly find everyone on the streets,” he said.

Even with 88 new beds, there’s still a shortfall of 79 beds, he said.

In January, a homeless man from Coventry died under a Providence bridge after a bitter cold night. In protest, some homeless men and women pitched their tents at the site.

Many more are living on the streets now, said Melissa Howard, who became homeless 11 years ago after her boyfriend left and she couldn’t afford the rent on an apartment. “Providence became my living room.”

The problem is bigger than it appears, said Sheryl Marshall, program director of Access-RI, a Pawtucket organization that helps the homeless and oversees a 15-bed shelter.

The October numbers don’t include the hundreds of people who are “couch surfing” and doubling up with friends and relatives, said Marshall, who works with a couple living under a bridge and another couple sleeping on a foundation in the woods.

“My biggest fear,” she said, “is that I will find a body in a tent or under a bridge.”

Pawtucket’s Mayor James E. Doyle and local groups have supported Access-RI by buying bus tickets for the homeless, or through other ways, she said.

The state can do the same, she said.

“Time is running out. The cold weather is coming. We need solutions now, and not months from now.”

Ryczek said he asked a Carcieri staff member if he could meet with the governor and was told no. He said he asked the same thing of Shawcross.

According to Kempe, Shawcross is the governor’s point person on homeless issues, and speaks for the administration. Also, Ryczek must submit a written request to meet with Carcieri, she said.

“I’m writing it now,” said Ryczek.

The governor has a moral obligation to help, said Rabbi Alan Flam, president of the coalition’s board and senior fellow at the Swearer Center for Public Service at Brown University.

At the rally, Rabbi Flam talked about Abraham and Job, two men from the Bible who approached hospitality differently.

Job opened his doors as a gesture of hospitality, the rabbi said. But Abraham “left his tent to seek guests” and even built houses along the road and stocked them with food and drink.

The governor should do the same, he said. “Leave your tent — actually, your office at the State House — and meet with us. We need your leadership at this time when people are vulnerable and in danger.”

BY THE NUMBERSThe Homeless: A Growing Problem

Number of people at shelters in one month

664

October 2007925

October 20081,518

October 2009

pdavis@projo.com