Focus on the basics
“Rhode Islanders work hard. They deserve a state that works just as hard for them. With the high cost of childcare, transportation, and housing, even good-paying jobs aren’t enough to help lower costs for Rhode Islanders,” said Helena. “Today, I’m proud to announce the second part of my Believe in Rhode Island economic plan, which invests in the services that jobs depend on, like childcare and transportation, so Rhode Islanders can afford to go to work in the good-paying jobs we’re creating in the Ocean State.”
Helena’s Plan for Working Families includes:
- Childcare
and Pre-K that’s accessible and affordable: A Rhode Island
employer-matched childcare fund, starting with a $20 million pilot,
designed to reduce the cost of care for working parents.
- Greater
housing supply and lower housing costs: Helena previously announced
her Rhode Home Program, a comprehensive proposal to tackle our state’s
housing crisis head on by creating a billion-dollar revolving loan
fund—paid for by a marginal tax increase on Rhode Islanders making over a
million dollars—to spur the construction of 20,000 new homes and
apartments statewide.
- Job-access
transit routes: A $15 million first-year appropriation for job-access
routes connecting workers to Quonset, ProvPort, hospital campuses, and the
warehouse corridor. This will include expanded transportation routes and
access to jobs in the ocean economy, allowing workers throughout Rhode
Island to benefit from state investments in a growing industry that
depends on skilled workers to fill good-paying jobs.
Read Helena’s Childcare & Transportation for Working Families plan here.
