- [Michelle] Tonight, why people will soon be allowed to use illegal drugs in Providence.

- We cannot stop people from using, but we can stop them from dying.

- [Pamela] And, before Hasbro, there was another famous toy company in Rhode Island, that helped save Christmas during World War I.

- [Margaret] Everything in this house is handmade right here in Providence.

- Then, breaking down the top stories of 2024 with Ian Donnis and Ted Nesi.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) Good evening, and welcome to "Rhode Island PBS Weekly".

I'm Michelle San Miguel.

- And I'm Pamela Watts.

We begin with the devastating consequences of drug addiction.

- Alone in a parked car, hidden behind a dumpster, or locked in a fast food bathroom.

These are some of the places where people go to use illegal drugs.

A new site in Providence will soon welcome people to use their drugs in plain sight, and it is legal.

Tonight we take you inside an overdose prevention center that has captured national attention.

- Our society has a way of, yes, if you're in recovery and treatment, we're gonna support you.

Until you get here, you're on your own.

- [Michelle] This space has the potential to change that, says Dennis Bailer, by offering support to many who are addicted to drugs.

- This is the Overdose Prevention Center.

This is where the actual life saving comes into play.

- [Michelle] The site in Providence is the first of its kind in the United States.

It's the only state regulated facility where people can use previously obtained drugs under the supervision of trained staff.

- This is one of our two inhalation or smoking rooms.

People will smoke their methamphetamine or their crack cocaine in these rooms.

- [Michelle] Bailer is the Overdose Prevention Program Director at Project Weber/RENEW.

He showed us injection booths, where clients can use illicit drugs like heroin.

Each booth has a mirror, which Bailer says is about safety.

- This allows us from a distance to see the person's face.

We can see where they appear like they may be at the onset of overdose.

- [Michelle] Saving lives is the number one goal.

Staff members are trained to intervene immediately if someone overdoses.

They'll also be able to test drugs for substances like fentanyl and a tranquilizer named xylazine.

- Not everybody who uses has substance use disorder.

We're in a college town.

College students experiment.

College students party a little bit.

We've lost so many young people who don't have substance use disorder to overdose death because of the contamination of their substance.

We hope we can get them into our facility to test their drug.

They don't have to use any of our other services.

- [Michelle] We spoke with a man named Willie, who smokes crack.

He wanted us to hide his face and disguise his voice.

He says he plans to use drugs at the Overdose Prevention Center.

- [Willie] Yeah, I think it's more safe here than you do it by yourself in the street.

- Willie says he's been arrested twice for using crack in public.

He plans to test his drugs at the site for fentanyl.

He's never overdosed, but he worries about it.

Do you know people who have overdosed?

- [Willie] Yes, a lot.

A lot of friends.

A lot of friends died.

Yeah.

They put fentanyl in the crack.

Yeah, a lot.

10, 20 people died already.

- One of the saddest things I visualize is that young person in their mid to late 20s dying behind a dumpster on Broad Street.

I wanna save that life.

I wanna prevent that death.

- [Michelle] Brandon Marshall is a professor of epidemiology at Brown University.

He's been studying harm reduction centers since 2011.

There are more than 200 of these sites around the world, including two that opened in New York City in 2021.

Unlike the one in Providence, those are not state sanctioned.

- Think this is a promising public health intervention that has seen success in Canada, in Europe, in Australia.

Now we need to know, though, does it work in the United States, right?

We have the world's most severe overdose crisis, and we have a healthcare system that's unlike anything else in the developed world as well.

- Marshall says there has never been a deadly overdose at a harm reduction center worldwide.

He expects the Providence site will contribute to a drop in emergency room visits and hospitalizations.

But not everyone's convinced.

There are still those who believe that overdose prevention centers are enabling people who are addicted to opioids.

What do you say to those folks?

- You know, at the end of the day, what these centers are trying to do is connect people to services, and in particular, addiction treatment.

That's one of the main goals.

- [Michelle] Marshall and a team of researchers at Brown will evaluate how the new site in Providence affects the overdose crisis and the local community.

They've already enrolled 250 people who use harm reduction services around Rhode Island.

They'll compare them with another 250 people, who will be recruited directly from the Overdose Prevention Center which is next to the Rhode Island Hospital campus.

- We are following folks for up to 18 months to look at some of their longer term trends in drug use and overdose risk, and we hypothesize that people who use the Overdose Prevention Center will have a lower rate of overdose over those 18 months.

And then we're also looking to see primarily the extent to which people are accessing addiction treatment.

- [Michelle] Project Weber/RENEW has partnered with VICTA, a nonprofit organization that will offer behavioral health, medical, and substance use treatment services.

Clients will also have access to showers and clean clothes.

- When you really bring a person into the fold and show them that love and that concern, they can take that mask off and say, "You know what?

This is just too much.

I'm having a hard time with this."

And with that connection, we can guide a person into treatment and detox and recovery.

- [Michelle] Willie says he wants to get help and to get clean.

He pictures a different life for himself than being homeless on the streets of Providence.

What do you hope your life looks like if and when you decide to quit?

- [Willie] A lot different.

You know, I bet my family would be happy.

My mother, my sister, brothers, my kids, yeah.

I'd be happy.

That's what I wanna do.

- [Michelle] The Overdose Prevention Center is largely funded by opioid settlement money awarded to Rhode Island.

No taxpayer dollars are being spent on the program, which is in a pilot phase until March of 2026.

It remains to be seen whether the state makes it permanent and what may happen under a new presidential administration.

- Well, of course, we're concerned.

We feel the best thing we can do is continue to care for people, prevent the deaths.

- [Michelle] While Marshall is a proponent of harm reduction centers, he says he's committed to reporting on whatever he and his team discover.

- We are not working directly with Project Weber/RENEW or the operator in New York City.

This is an independent evaluation.

- [Michelle] Rhode Island saw a more than 7% drop in fatal overdoses last year compared to 2022, and there are similar signs across the country.

- Nationally, for the first time since the beginning of the crisis, we're seeing pretty sustained significant reductions in overdose deaths.

So, this could be the beginning of the turn of the epidemic.

If we continue investing in programs that work, that are evidence-based, I think we could finally be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.

- An opening day for the new site hasn't been announced yet.

The Rhode Island Department of Health is working with Project Weber/RENEW on the licensing process.

And you can find more coverage of the Overdose Prevention Center from our colleagues at The Public's Radio at thepublicsradio.org.

Up next, Rhode Island is well known as the home of Hasbro, makers of Mr.

Potato Head, Transformers, and My Little Pony.

However, few may know there was once a Tynietoy story, a Providence company aided by a famous local artist and some crafters, who handmade play things that were popular all across the country, and just in the nick of time for Christmas.

- [Margaret] Everything in this house is handmade right here in Providence.

There are porcelains, there's metal work, there's woodwork, there's painting, there's the rugs, there's the dolls.

- And doll furniture so exquisite and charming, even big kids find them irresistible.

There's nothing in the oven.

These pieces, called Tynietoys, were all handmade and hand painted in the early 1900s by artisans at the Handicraft Club on the east side of Providence, which is still active today.

Margaret Lederer is a past president.

- When you see them and you see the the quality of painting, the quality of the woodwork, each piece is like a small sculpture.

The attention to detail is phenomenal.

- [Pamela] It's thanks in part to this man, Sydney Burleigh, a prominent and prolific artist.

He was a leader of the Providence Art Club, where his paintings are still displayed.

So are the dragon and irons he forged, and pieces of furniture he made.

Burleigh is perhaps best known as co-architect of his East Side studio, the iconic Fleur-de-lys building.

He even designed the griffin guarded fireplace.

But he had another studio in his hometown of Little Compton that looks like it came out of a storybook, a cat boat outfitted with sides and a thatched roof, christened Peggotty, after the nurse who lived in a similar beached boat in the Dickens novel, "David Copperfield".

- I think he saw the potential in the old boat and the opportunity to do something really joyous with it.

And you see that in the choices that he makes throughout his career.

The boat used to sail across the Sakonnet River as a ferry between Little Compton and what is now Middletown, Rhode Island.

- And he actually worked in there?

- [Marjory] He worked in it.

He had tea parties in it.

There was a stove in it to keep everybody warm during the chilly season.

- [Pamela] Marjory O'Toole, Executive Director of the Little Compton Historical Society, says their archives are full of photos of Burleigh and friends putting on Punch and Judy puppet shows and costumed theatricals.

- He loved whimsy.

He loved working with his hands.

Much of his work was to promote the arts and crafts movement in America, pushing back against the age of industrialization.

So we see beautiful work, metal, wood, paint.

I think it's fair to call him sort of a Renaissance man.

- [Pamela] And a man with a devilish sense of humor.

Among the watercolors and oils Burleigh painted, he did some early trick photography, printing this double exposure of himself at Peggotty studio.

He also made this fantasy map of Little Compton, with mermaids, pirate ships, and his own face peering out from the compass.

And then there's his hand cut and painted wooden creche.

- Just as Burleigh inserted his face into the map that he made, we believe that this is Burleigh looking out at us from the face of Joseph.

So he had this wonderful habit or tradition of inserting himself into his artwork in a very comical, humorous way.

- [Pamela] What's more, Burleigh is also believed to be the face of St. Nicholas in this engraving.

Turns out the high-spirited Burleigh became Santa's helper in reality during World War I, when an embargo was placed on German goods.

- There became a concern among the artists and crafters in Providence that the children's toys being produced in Germany would be blocked, and the Rhode Island children would not have the opportunity to have toys at Christmas.

- [Pamela] So, two women from the Handicraft Club decided to make dolls, doll houses, and furniture, and they turned to their good friend Sydney Burleigh for assistance.

- And he gave them advice on how to standardize their designs and make it more of a business rather than, you know, a bespoke hobby.

- They drew upon him to be an advisor and to help them decide the scale of the buildings, the dollhouses, and the pieces of furniture, which were modeled after pieces that are in the RISD Museum collection.

This is their model they called the Mansion.

It was the most costly of all their models.

- [Pamela] Burleigh designed six different New England style dollhouses.

Everything was handmade, from the rugs on the floor to the wooden doors, to the original mural Burleigh created for the wall.

- [Margaret] One of the rarest pieces that still exist is this harpsichord.

- [Pamela] Also rare, the dolls.

But he's a jolly little fellow.

And... - As you look in the dining room, you can see that there is a variety not only of historically correct and proportioned furniture, but also, Tynietoy had made the metal pieces.

I think we have a soup tureen in there and we have plates and- - And a punch bowl.

- [Margaret] And a punch bowl.

- [Pamela] Each piece of furniture is impressed with the Tynietoy trademark or a paper label.

Soon, the company was advertised as a tiny shop for tiny toys in the tiniest state of the union.

- As the company grew through sales of the dollhouses at FAO Schwartz in New York, as well as Marshall Field in Chicago and through a mail order business, they needed more production size.

So, they moved to the building where the RISD Auditorium is now.

- [Pamela] The company went on to hire students from Rhode Island School of Design and World War I veterans to do production and painting of the toys, each a piece of historic preservation in miniature.

- So, it's really a celebration of women, of craft, and of community, and that's something which we value.

- Sadly, in our collection, we only have one tiny little chair from the Tynietoy company, but we treasure it.

- [Pamela] O'Toole says although Burleigh and his wife never had children of their own, she believes he cared about them and understood the importance of play.

And she says Burleigh is admired for his spirit, his refusal to grow up and put away the things that bring delight.

- He was an adult who was not afraid to take a wonderful, childlike joy in what life had to offer.

- The Tynietoys company went out of business in the early 1950s when plastic doll furniture was being manufactured in Japan.

However, Tynietoys remain highly collectible today.

And finally tonight, hundreds of thousands of Rhode Islanders are waiting to find out if their personal information will be released following a cyber attack.

It's quickly become one of the biggest stories of the year in the state.

On tonight's episode of "Weekly Insight", Michelle is breaking down the top stories of 2024 with our colleague, Ian Donnis, and WPRI12's politics editor, Ted Nesi.

- Ian and Ted, it's good to see you both.

Welcome.

We know the holiday season is busy enough, and now many Rhode Islanders are scrambling to secure their personal information following this major cyber attack against the state's public benefits system.

Ted, what does this mean?

We know that lawsuits have recently been filed against the vendor.

- Now, as we tape today, Michelle, I think there's just a lot of uncertainty.

This is a very important IT system.

It's everything from SNAP Food stamps to Medicaid to HealthSource RI insurance, and as we sit here, we don't know when they'll be able to turn the system back on, if these hackers will release people's personal data.

And these are often vulnerable people who are on these programs that are generally directed toward lower income people.

So, a very challenging situation.

- And it's interesting that this year and last year, Ian, were both bookended by major stories in Rhode Island.

Of course, last year, the Washington Bridge westbound was abruptly shut down, and one year later, we can't say that we have much more new information about when a new bridge will be built.

- Exactly, Michelle, and this shows how unexpected events can become big political headaches.

It's possible the new westbound bridge could not be completed until even 2027, after the next race for governor.

- Wow.

- Governor McKee and DOT Director Alviti say the state is on the right track now.

But from a political perspective, the aggravation of Rhode Islanders is already baked in, because they've spent a lot of time in traffic, and they probably have questions about why the situation developed, considering how the state set off on a massive bridge improvement program under former Governor Raimondo back around 2015.

- So as the year comes to a close, we don't know when the new bridge will be built.

We also don't know if Hasbro will move its longstanding headquarters from Pawtucket to neighboring Massachusetts.

Will they go somewhere else in Rhode Island, potentially Providence?

What do you think, Ian?

What are you hearing?

- Hasbro's playing it very close to the vest, so it's hard to say, but I think state officials would feel a lot more comfortable if Hasbro had a clear ask, and there has not been anything like that, sparking fears that there will be a sudden announcement maybe sometime in the new year that Hasbro is decamping for Massachusetts.

Certainly, a lot of elected officials, ranging from the governor, to the speaker, to members of Congress, have spoken with Chris Cocks, the CEO of Hasbro, and encouraged him to stay, but it's really unclear if that's gonna have any effect.

- And Ted, as we sit here, another big Rhode Island based employer has been in the news, CVS, and not for reasons that it wants to be.

- Right, it's been a difficult year for CVS.

They replaced their CEO, they've had big business challenges, significant layoffs, and now here in December, they're suddenly being sued by the federal government, a very damaging, I would argue, lawsuit.

They're all allegations right now, but arguing the company mishandled opioids for years with their pharmacies, with their prescribers, and everything else, which could also have political implications, because of course, potential gubernatorial candidate Helena Foulkes was a top CVS executive during part of this period.

- Sure.

We know the healthcare industry in this state has certainly had its challenges, and we'll get to that, but I do wanna point out, hospital officials have said, "Look, there has been some good news this year," and they point to the relationship between Brown University and Lifespan, and how they have deepened their relationship.

So ultimately, Ted, what does this mean for patients, and what does this mean for the shortage that we have seen in the state with primary care doctors?

- I think it remains to be seen, Michelle.

I do think there are reasons to be more optimistic about Brown Health, formerly Lifespan, compared to where they've been in recent years.

They have a new management team who came down from Boston.

They're looking at new ways of expanding.

They just took over those Steward hospitals in Fall River and Taunton.

But I also think the challenges, as you said, are very deep in terms of revenue for all health providers in Rhode Island.

So, I think they're gonna continue to be challenged, this new management team.

I'm frankly curious to see how they kind of roll out this Brown Health version of the health system and what they're able to do.

- Sure, and Ian, as you well know, it's not all rosy in the world of healthcare.

You've been doing a lot of reporting this year on the upcoming sale of Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence and our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence.

So, where does that sale stand right now?

- State regulators have signed off on the terms of the sale to the Centurion Foundation, a nonprofit based in Atlanta, and Centurion is trying to line up its financing, but there are big questions about whether this is really gonna work, because both hospitals have been losing a lot of money for years.

The plan would call for the debt to be paid back by revenue from the hospitals.

But if they're losing money, how is that gonna happen?

- We can't talk about 2024 without talking about housing, because we began this year, and talk of affordable housing was the big discussion at the State House.

Ian, if you had to sum up housing in 2024 in Rhode Island, what would you say?

- I'll quote House Speaker Joe Shekarchi, who says, "It took a long time to get into this situation, and it's gonna take a long time to get out of it."

- [Michelle] Ted, would you echo that?

- Yeah, I mean, you know, it's amazing to me, Michelle, there's been so much talk about housing policy, far more.

There have been all sorts of laws passed.

And yet when you look at the basic financial state of the housing market in Rhode Island, it's still getting more expensive.

We're at almost half a million dollars for a single family home, over $2,000 for a new lease on an apartment, one of the highest growth rates for rents in the country.

So I just wonder, too, if there's a gap between the talk from state leaders about the need for more housing and the actual fueling of neighbors on the ground in different communities, who often oppose actual proposals to add more housing.

- I feel like a common theme of 2024 is we're inching our way toward progress when it comes to housing, when it comes to a new bridge.

Okay, Ted, you and I have spent a lot of time on "Weekly Insight" this year talking about the 2024 election.

And one of the major headlines that came from that here in Rhode Island was that every city and town in the state, there were more votes for President-elect Trump this year compared to four years ago.

And I'm curious, what does this mean for Republicans in the state going forward, and of course, the gubernatorial race that we have in 2026?

- I think it's a huge question now, Michelle.

The Republican Party in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts is in very challenging shape.

No statewide offices, no federal offices, and yet you saw this growth for Donald Trump.

He nearly won Bristol County, Massachusetts.

But the question, I guess, I have is, is this about Donald Trump or Republicans writ large?

Can other Republicans capitalize on this in 2026, or was this really about Donald Trump as just a unique political figure?

- My sense is President-elect Trump is really a unique figure in American politics due to his celebrity, and that has not translated into the Republican cause here in Rhode Island, where the GOP presence is treading water and down quite a bit from where it was even 10 years ago.

- Ian and Ted, thank you so much for being here.

Good to see you both.

- Great to be here.

- Good to be here.

- And that's our broadcast this evening.

Thank you for joining us.

I'm Pamela Watts.

- And I'm Michelle San Miguel.

We'll be back next week with another edition of "Rhode Island PBS Weekly".

Until then, please follow us on Facebook and YouTube, and you can visit us online to see all of our stories and past episodes at ripbs.org/weekly, or listen to our podcasts on your favorite streaming platform.

Goodnight.

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