Upcoming meetings and report from our State Senator Victoria Gu

December Updates & Housing Forums  Dear Friends and Neighbors, It's that time of year again! Not just for stocking stuffers and gingerbread cookies. For us it's the mad rush to meet with stakeholders and get our legislative requests submitted to Legislative Counsel before the holiday break. Also, I happen to be speaking at two local housing forums in one week! See below:     Town Hall on Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU's) & Housing Time/Date: Sat Dec 9th, 1:30-3pm Location: Cross Mills Library (4417 Old Post Rd, Charlestown) Join us at a town hall meeting to discuss ADU’s (Accessory Dwelling Units), their historical use as intergenerational housing, and their potential to help address the housing crisis in Rhode Island. Speakers include Matthew Netto from AARP Rhode Island and Russ Partridge from the WARM Center in Westerly.   RSVP / Submit Questions for Charlestown Town Hall   Town Hall on Affordable Housing Time/Date: Wed Dec 13th, 6-7:30pm Location: Westerly Library (144 Broad St, Westerly) Town Councilor Kevin Lowther, Town Planner Nancy Letendre, and Ad-Hoc Affordable Housing Committee members will discuss their ongoing work to update Westerly's affordable housing strategy. State Senator Victoria Gu will provide an update on state legislation to enable Accessory Dwelling Units. RSVP and submit questions here: victoria4ri.com/town-hall   RSVP / Submit Questions for Westerly Town Hall   Commissions & Task Forces Throughout the summer and fall, commissions that were newly established through state legislation began to study a lot of topics in depth: everything ranging from short-term rentals to pensions and plastic waste reduction. After months of hearings, each commission creates a report with policy recommendations, which often turns into a bill or multiple bills. Because the videos are not necessarily easy to find, I'm posting recordings of several commission meetings below. If you're interested, keep an eye out for opportunities to testify or submit email testimony to the commission chair. Plastic Bottle Waste Commission (Sep 27, 2023) Short-Term Rental Commission (Oct 11, 2023) Pension Advisory Commission (Nov 2, 2023)  Pictured below: Senator Meghan Kallman chairing the Task Force to reduce recidivism of women in the criminal justice population   2023 Highlights Medicaid reimbursement for school psychologists and social workers Earlier in 2023, we heard compelling stories from educators in Westerly and across the state about the youth mental health crisis in schools. I was glad to co-sponsor a bill (SB-869) directing that services provided to a Medicaid-enrolled student by school social workers and certified school psychologists will be eligible for Medicaid reimbursement. Some states already do this, and it helps us take advantage of federal funding. Federal changes are also helping to make this reimbursement process easier (read here: https://www.edweek.org/leadership/new-laws-aim-to-combat-the-youth-mental-health-crisis-heres-what-they-do/2023/08)   In the News Commuter Rail Town Hall Recap Wednesday's town hall highlighted a vision for commuter rail connectivity between southern Connecticut and Rhode Island. Connecting workers via commuter rail to booming job centers in the area will be key to reducing traffic congestion, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and giving residents affordable transportation options.  Action Alert: Everyone interested in making this happen should contact their Congressmembers and ask them to help get some of the federal infrastructure funding. You can say something like: "Connecticut just completed its feasibility study on extending commuter rail to Westerly. Please push for Westerly Train Station to receive rail infrastructure funding for high-level platforms so that we can have more frequent rail service." Senator Whitehouse Senator Jack Reed Representative Seth Magaziner Representative-elect Gabe Amo Thank you to the Westerly advocates, RI Association of Railroad Passengers, town council members, Town Manager Shawn Lacey, Michael Scheffer, Stonington Borough Warden Michael Schefers, Zell Steever from Connecticut, Alex Berardo from Westerly, State Senator Lou Raptakis, State Representative Tina Spears, for participating and pushing to make this a reality.  Thank you also to Sarah Ingle from RIPTA for presenting about the upcoming statewide paratransit pilot program  WesterlySun news coverage: https://www.thewesterlysun.com/news/westerly/study-spotlights-westerly-station-as-possible-commuter-rail-terminus/article_3de23d40-8259-11ee-bfe0-bb2deec77ecc.html   Watch the Recording   Past Meetings / Events   Fundraiser + Holiday Party  It was great to see so many familiar faces and new faces at our fundraiser / end of year holiday party! It takes a village and I'm grateful for the many volunteers in the room who work with me or alongside me on everything from transit to housing, shoreline access, education equity, and much more.   Save RIPTA Rally Last Thursday I stood with other state legislators at a rally to fully fund RIPTA. With a fiscal cliff looming, essential routes to/from South County like 65x, 95x, summer beach service, Sunday and holiday service, and routes in other parts of the state are at risk of being eliminated. The coalition is pushing to include enough funding in the Governor's budget to: 1) Prevent the fiscal cliff and more devastating service cuts 2) Make sure bus drivers get a living wage, and 3) Start implementing the Transit Master Plan that will expand transit service statewide Pictured above: RI Representative Jennifer Stewart and RI State Senator Meghan Kallman   Ribbon-Cutting for Wood River Health's Expansion Very excited for Wood River Health's latest expansion in Hope Valley! Wood River is a "Safety Net" provider of healthcare, which is crucial for underinsured and uninsured people in our area. This expansion allows them to offer more dental services, mental health services, radiology services, physical therapy services, plus a community conference room!   Site Visits with Women's Development Corp Building affordable housing in South County is a challenge because we have to attract nonprofit developers to our area. We had an introductory meeting between two members of the Westerly Town Council (a third one couldn't make it) and Women's Development Corporation (WDC). WDC is based in Providence, but they have done affordable housing development in South County before. We included site visits of underutilized property or lots in Westerly, and it was a mix of town-owned, state-owned or privately owned property.   Discussing Priorities with Charlestown Town Council Thank you to the Charlestown Town Council for discussing legislative priorities with me and State Representative Tina Spears. A couple items that came up were: accurate counting of Low-Moderate Income housing units in the area, the upcoming Amtrak study of the Northeast Corridor, and road maintenance.   Being a Guest Judge @ RISD's ADU Design Competition  Very excited to see the Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) design concepts that came out of Rhode Island School of Design’s student competition! The winning design will be announced in January, and the student designs will be displayed at the Rhode Island State House.   Upcoming Events / Places I'll Be Fri Dec 8th: Meeting with local planners in our area to discuss housing & land use Fri Dec 8th or Sat Dec 9th in Westerly Downtown (check with Chamber of Commerce to confirm): Starry Lights debut for the holiday season! Thur Dec 14th 9:10am on WBLQ Radio (1230 AM): I'll be on Resiliency Hour for the first time to talk about climate resiliency efforts Thur Dec 14th 5pm: SKHS Holiday Concert & Finale Event for the SK300 Anniversary Celebration Tues Dec 19th: Work day in Providence, including RIBLIA Caucus meeting with the DCYF (Department of Children, Youth & Families) Director  Wed Dec 20th 9am: My usual monthly conversation with Frank Prosnitz on WBLQ Radio (1230AM) Commission Meetings: I'll continue visiting some local town commissions to keep up to date with what they're planning and share any relevant state resources. If you'd like me to join a meeting, please reach out! victoria4ri@gmail.com   Programs You Can Apply For  Looking to reduce your heating costs? Get a detailed no-cost energy assessment of your home through RI Energy. This is the first step toward getting (significantly subsidized) weatherization and insulation work done on your home. This opportunity is available for homes with 1-to-4-units through Rhode Island Energy. To schedule a home energy assessment, call 1-888-633-7947. For more information: https://www.rienergy.com/RI-Home/Energy-Saving-Programs/Home-Energy-Assessments  To see all the energy incentives for residential homes, businesses, and nonprofits: https://energy.ri.gov/incentives     Friends of Victoria Gu, PO Box 116, Charlestown, RI 02813, United States, 4013880696