2 years into COVID-19 pandemic, the push to recover continues in San Mateo County

“It’s probably the closest thing to a waking nightmare. … This wasn’t supposed to happen but it did and here we are. You soldier on the best you can and get to the new reality,” Cook said, a disabled Belmont resident who recently moved in part to be closer to the nonprofit. “All I can do is try to keep putting one foot in front of the other and breathe in and out and know that every day will get a little better. It has to.”

Since the start of the pandemic, more than 120,000 residents have tested positive for the virus and 736 have died from COVID-19 related illnesses, according to the county’s dashboards. And many residents have lost their jobs or had hours reduced and went into debt to keep their housing or utilities turned on.

The private, public and nonprofit sectors came together to provide communities with relief through programs like food distributions and rental assistance but the pandemic revealed and in many cases exacerbated the amount of assistance San Mateo County residents were needing to get by, Samaritan House CEO Bart Charlow said.

Hundreds of residents have traveled through Samaritan House’s food distribution line each day since it was first established two years ago, within days of the Bay Area entering an emergency lockdown in response to COVID-19 reaching the region, Charlow said.

On Wednesday, March 16, exactly two years since the order took effect, cars continued flowing through the nonprofit’s parking lot. Demand for food has remained high, as Charlow anticipated, but with the cost of goods going up due to inflation and military conflict in Ukraine, demand has grown, Charlow said.

“Food is a leading indicator of their stress. They come here for food first,” Charlow said. “Inflation has hit food really hard. You gotta eat. You gotta feed your family.”

Dawn Wright, a retired San Mateo resident, said the food assistance has been a “godsend.” Given that she lives on a fixed income, the increased cost of groceries, gas and other necessities have been a major concern especially as she grapples with paying for medical expenses.

But Wright tends to look for the positive in life, she said. The pandemic has been an extremely isolating experience for her and Cook, but both talked about the importance of giving back to their own neighbors who may be worse off. And Wright said the time has forced people to consider what good things they have in their lives

“You’ve got to take the good with the bad. It’s the way the ball bounces,” Wright said, noting her immense appreciation for the companionship she receives from her dog, Chloe.

Housing woes

The nonprofit, which manages multiple rental assistance programs for the county and local cities, has also seen applications for rental assistance double month over month, Charlow said, noting “people are scrambling to keep a roof over their heads.” Federal dollars have been depleted at this point and what’s left of local funds won’t be enough to cover all that’s being requested, he added.

While hopeful additional local support will trickle in, Charlow and Samaritan House COO Laura Bent recognized one silver lining of the pandemic — the fuel it lent to getting federal, state and local dollars directed toward homeless housing initiatives.

Specifically, Bent and Charlow lauded the county for aggressively pursuing the purchase of a number of hotels in Redwood City, Half Moon Bay and San Mateo that offers the formerly homeless or those at risk of homelessness private transitional housing. The model has been supported by millions of dollars in state funding through Project Homekey, a spinoff of Project Roomkey, which sought to house the homeless in hotels that were struggling with low occupancy during the pandemic.

The hotels are not a cure-all solution for the county’s housing woes but Charlow said the model was a win-win for the county and the struggling businesses and Bent said the housing structure can be far more enticing for convincing the unsheltered to move off the streets and into services.

“We’ve been talking about it for years, then the resources became available and we took advantage of it,” Bent said.

Making progress

Officials have also made strong progress in responding to the health crisis. About 90% of all county residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine and inoculation rates continue to trickle up among some of the hardest reached groups, Chief of Health Louise Rogers said in a Message from the Chief published Wednesday, March 16.

COVID-19-related hospitalizations have steadily decreased and infection rates have dropped dramatically from an early January peak of 239 cases per 100,000 residents to about 76 new cases in total a day, Rogers said. The rate is similar to what the county experienced in early December and puts the local community in the “low” risk tier determined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Reflecting on the past two years, Rogers lauded the community and partner agencies for contributing to the county’s recovery.

“It is heartening to be experiencing some stability in key trends this March as we reflect on reaching the two-year milestones of the initial events that unfolded as the global COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020,” wrote Rogers. “These days at the very least mark a pause to reflect and learn.”

Much work still lies ahead for local officials and county residents. While health conditions are currently improving, Charlow said he expects financial strains to get worse before they get better and shared hope that those who’ve either avoided major financial impacts or have found stability would remain cognizant of the ongoing need.

And he also shared concerns another surge of cases could hit the Bay Area similar to the way omicron did. Health officials have weighed that possibility and have argued that the region would be prepared to scale up and respond if necessary.

“We’re going to have to make it on our own locally,” Charlow said. “We’ve seen a tremendous outpouring of support, financial and otherwise from across our community, from individuals, from orgs and local companies that are doing OK and I’m hoping they will see the importance of continuing that support.”

Visit the Samaritan House website at samaritanhousesanmateo.org for more information on assistance programs and volunteer opportunities.

sierra@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 106