San Mateo County: Homeless call for more hotels, long stays amid crisis

San Mateo County has been prioritizing hotels for the most vulnerable of the homeless population and those residents are typically relocated from shelters. The idea is to reduce shelter populations to enable social distancing there.

Officials describe participating hotels and trailers as de facto shelters, noting they include all of the same services, including daily meals, showers and health checkups. However, shelters offer communal living while hotels are for one person or a couple typically.

County Manager Mike Callagy has said shelter in one of the above forms will be offered to all homeless people in the county who want it.

“We want to make sure we house anyone who needs housing during this crisis,” Callagy said during a press conference last week.  

To date, 80 homeless people are in hotels in the county through Project Roomkey and another 33 homeless residents are being housed at what’s called the Bayfront Station. The county also secured 30 additional trailer beds next to the Maple Street and WeHope shelters.

The 80 residents being housed through Project Roomkey is down from 94 residents several weeks ago. Callagy attributed the drop to residents willfully “moving on for one reason or another.”

But many homeless people say they’ve been forced to leave their hotels after a period of days or a couple of weeks, with either option being far shorter than the duration of the ongoing crisis.

“They’re sending some people back [to shelters from hotels] saying they no longer meet the criteria. I don’t understand that because I have a heart problem and I figured that’d make me qualified,” said Marc Schoolman, who said he was placed in a hotel for two weeks in April before being sent back to a shelter. “The hotel was nice, we didn’t have to worry about people being close to us. Even if we’re 6 feet apart the virus can still hit.”

Schoolman referenced recent COVID-19 outbreaks at San Francisco shelters and said the news has terrified the San Mateo County homeless community.

“We should at least be given the courtesy of a hotel room,” Schoolman said.

Michelle Durand, the county’s chief communications officer, reiterated the county’s commitment to housing all homeless people who accept the offer of shelter, but said there is no guarantee of a hotel room. She also noted placement into hotels is based on Centers for Disease Control guidelines, which include prioritizing those with serious heart conditions, people aged 65 or above and those with chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma, among other conditions.

Schoolman and other homeless people in the county insist they fit those guidelines, but still aren’t being given a hotel room.

‘Why can’t I stay here where it’s safe?’

Brian Jones, 65, said he’s been in and out of shelters before finally getting placed in a hotel last week after reaching out to the office of U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, which assisted with his transition. He said he was given a total of nine days in the hotel, but no plan for what happens next.

“My question is what is their exit strategy after nine days? We just go back onto the street?” he asked. “They’ve told me nothing about what happens next. I’m worried I’ll be back on the streets in nine days. Why can’t I stay here where it’s safe until this crisis is over?”

Prior to being placed in a hotel, he used his stimulus money to pay for his own hotel room. He was also living in a park in San Mateo as well as shelters including the Maple Street shelter in Redwood City, but said conditions were so rough there he couldn’t take it and left.

Others have complained the Maple Street shelter, which is managed by nonprofit LifeMoves, won’t let residents come and go during the day.

“Folks are going stir crazy,” said Schoolman. “Once you’re in, you can’t even go out for a cigarette. The doors are locked and no one goes in and out.”

Others have said those with jobs are allowed to come and go.

Samantha Peterson, spokeswoman for LifeMoves, disputed those claims. She said residents are permitted to take unsupervised essential trips and come back to the shelter, though they’ll be rescreened upon return and given a temperature check. She added the nonprofit’s shelters have either backyards or other outdoor areas where residents can get fresh air and exercise.

Peterson also noted increased cleaning protocol is in place at the shelters, social distancing is being implemented and personal protective equipment is available for both residents and staff.

Waiting

Collen Darneille, who has been homeless for close to two years, said the process for getting placed in a shelter — which is the first step before being placed in a hotel, if eligible — takes weeks.

“I’ve come across 17 people saying they’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting and keep calling,” she said.

Durand said there could be delays between the initial phone call as shelter providers are experiencing a higher call volume of late, but hadn’t heard of extended wait periods of two weeks. She urges anyone in need of housing to reach out to one of the county’s eight core agencies, which includes nonprofits LifeMoves and Samaritan House, among others.

Darneille said she desperately wants a hotel room, but doesn’t qualify for one because she neither suffers from underlying medical conditions nor is her age considered vulnerable. She said she spent several days in a shelter, but was forced to leave because it didn’t have a strong phone signal and internet, which she needs to maintain her job.

Overqualified for many assistance programs, but unable to afford housing of her own, she feels like she’s slipped through the cracks of the services being offered.

“People need help and they’re not getting the help they need,” she said.

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

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