San Mateo County: Homeless help is in the works

With local shelters at capacity and social distancing of at least 6 feet impossible under such conditions, county officials have begun relocating homeless people from shelters into local hotels. So far, 87 homeless people have been transitioned into hotels and the goal is get that number up to 94 this week, said Edwin Chan, senior executive analyst with the county’s Human Services Agency. 

“Shelters are tight, confined spaces so what we’re trying to do is implement the suggestions from the county’s public health officer and practice social distancing,” he said, adding that the hotels are reimbursed as part of an existing agreement with the county. “We’re particularly working with older clients to make sure they’re safeguarded.” 

The shelters are run by nonprofit LifeMoves, which manages shelters throughout the Bay Area, including in San Mateo and Redwood City, that collectively accommodate 950 homeless people every night. 

Bart Charlow, CEO of Samaritan House, a nonprofit that provides services to homeless and low-income people, said he’s talked with several hoteliers who’ve embraced the arrangement. 

“The hotels are hurting and could use the business so everyone will benefit,” he said, adding that the move “helps us take pressure off the shelters and take vulnerable people off the streets and we need to do both to contain this disease.”

Samaritan House offers a 100-bed shelter that has been forced to turn people way recently because it’s full every night, Charlow said.

County officials are also expediting the creation of a new temporary shelter, and LifeMoves said it’s exploring the potential use of trailers and other forms of temporary housing for homeless people. 

Reducing shelter populations isn’t the only measure LifeMoves is taking to enhance safety at its facilities. Non-essential visits, including by meal providers, and volunteer shifts have been postponed; personal protective equipment, including face masks and gloves, are available for staff and clients; increased pay and benefit expenses have been given to frontline staff and those who need to take time off for health or family reasons; and contingency plans are being developed to ensure service can continue if the situation gets worse, said Samantha Peterson, the nonprofit’s director of marketing. 

With visits by meal providers suspended at shelters, LifeMoves has partnered with the Maple Street Correctional Center to fill the void, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Wednesday. Voluntary inmate workers are helping package 420 meals a day, seven days a week until a long-term solution can be found, according to the statement. 

Even with emergency housing efforts, a significant portion of the county’s homeless population remains outdoors. At any given time in Redwood City, for example, there are about 20 homeless camps each home to five to 10 campers and none have transitioned into housing since the coronavirus outbreak, said David Shearin, founder of nonprofit Streetlife Ministries, which provides services to Redwood City’s homeless community. 

Much of Shearin’s work entails direct outreach to homeless camps and the pandemic has not stopped him from continuing that work, though new safety measures are in place and the 6-foot social distancing order is always adhered to, he said. 

Shearin said the biggest problem the homeless community is facing at the moment is a dearth of restrooms as the restaurants, shops and libraries they typically rely on are now closed due to the shelter-in-place order.

“They’ve had nowhere to clean themselves or use the toilet,” Shearin said.

The city noted the problem and worked with Shearin last week to deliver 20 portable hand-washing stations to places homeless people frequent, including near camps, shelters and areas where many are living in cars and RVs. 

“That’s huge because each wash station has 600 gallons of water and it’s a double sink with soap and hand sanitizer,” Shearin said, adding that the stations will be restocked twice weekly. The stations are also decorated with educational information about social distancing as well as phone numbers of service providers. 

Sharon and his team has also been distributing 40 to 50 bags filled with soap, hand sanitizer, toothpaste, shampoo and granola bars a night to homeless people. 

Kevin Valley, who was once homeless and is now Streetlife Ministries’ facility manager, said the homeless community is scared and has little access to information about the crisis, but is taking the threat seriously and doing all it can to prevent transmission.

“Homeless folks are scared because they don’t really know what’s going on. Many fear if they get the virus they’ll die,” Valley said. He, Shearin and their colleagues are especially focused on educating homeless people about necessary preventative measures.

Valley said homeless residents are social distancing at their respective camps and are increasingly territorial about others joining them, causing more disagreements and also loneliness among campers. These days, many feel safer in an outdoor camp than in a shelter because of the virus, though most would prefer their own room with a closed door and roof if given the option, he said. 

Streetlife Ministries is continuing to serve food four times a week at three locations, but with new preventative measures in place. The application of hand sanitizer is required upon entry, meals are prepackaged and social distancing is enforced. The events typically involve church service and socializing in addition to the food distribution, but these days only the food is offered.

Valley said more and more homeless people are showing up for food lately, and many have said the nonprofit is one of the few remaining food providers they know of offering prepared meals. 

The nonprofit would also typically rely on food donated from local technology companies but, because those businesses are all operating remotely, that source no longer exists. Thankfully a backstock of food, Costco runs and donations have kept the supply going.   

“We’ll do whatever we can to feed folks something,” Shearin said. 

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

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