With novel coronavirus spreading in Los Angeles, local officials are now delivering hand-washing stations to homeless encampments in an attempt to prevent the virus from infecting some of the city’s most vulnerable residents.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin says he dipped into his office budget and coordinated with the city’s recreation and parks department to deploy 40 stations in his Westside district. It’s a start, but Bonin acknowledges these measures won’t be enough to protect unsheltered residents in the event of a local epidemic.
“I have absolutely no doubt that we are not prepared for that at all,” he says. “If we have 30,000 people sleeping on the streets every night, we’re not prepared for a public health crisis—period.”
So far, the virus hasn’t been identified in anyone experiencing homelessness. But because older people and those with underlying health problems are more likely to develop the most serious form of COVID-19—the illness caused by the virus—people living without permanent housing could be disproportionately impacted by outbreaks. And with limited access to shelter and healthcare, homeless residents could have a harder time recovering from the sickness.
“Hearing from the officials that this virus impacts the elderly the most, we quickly think about how quite a bit of people experiencing homelessness are elderly and are already experiencing geriatric conditions that you usually see in much older people,” says Amy Turk, CEO of the Downtown Women’s Center.
The center released a report earlier this year examining the plight of women experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. It suggests that nearly half of homeless women are over the age of 50, and more than 55 percent have experienced health problems.
“We see people living with chronic health problems—heart conditions, diabetes,” says Turk. “And through no fault of their own, some of these people also have very limited access to places to wash their hands.”
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health director Barbara Ferrer announced on Wednesday the county’s first death related to novel coronavirus, and today said the county is attempting to secure temporary housing for “people who absolutely can’t go anywhere else, should they need to be isolated or quarantined.”
Public health officials have encouraged people showing symptoms of COVID-19 to stay at home and contact a doctor. That’s not easy for residents living in shelters and makeshift housing.
“We’d like to avoid having people ill with coronavirus in our encampments,” said Ferrer. “That’s really a bad place to be if you’re sick in general, and it would be a terrible place to be if you have an infectious disease.”
Residents of a small community of tents and makeshift shelters at Echo Park Lake say they’re worried about exposure to the virus in the city’s shelters, in which beds are often positioned just a few feet apart from one another with minimal division.
“Our top concern right now is Coronavirus,” residents wrote in a statement Wednesday. “An open floor plan in shelters is both dangerous to the epidemic and the very opposite of what should be offered to the homeless.”
Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, who represents the area, last week proposed opening an emergency shelter at a nearby church. Under his proposal, the shelter could open as soon as next week, though it’s not clear whether the push to get the site up and running is related to the spread of novel coronavirus.
Turk says public health officials advised Downtown service providers that beds in shelters and temporary housing centers should be “as far away from each other as possible.” They also recommended limiting big gatherings and physical contact between residents.
“We’re creating a new social norm,” she says. “People are doing little dances, there’s a lot of elbow bumping and ‘virtual hugging.’”
Alex Comisar, a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Garcetti, says the city is working with the county health department to determine ways to quarantine people living in shelters, if necessary.
Tran Le, communications director for Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, says 125 hand-washing stations are being distributed today citywide in accordance with a proposal unveiled last week by Rodriguez and O’Farrell.
Bonin says he hopes some of these stations will remain in place after fears over novel coronavirus begin to dissipate.
“It’s about addressing a public health issue,” he says. “This is the minimal thing we need to be doing to protect the health and safety of people who are unhoused.”
Comments
"we’re not prepared" – Shocking!
By Ravid Dyu on 03.12.20 12:08pm
This is nothing short of a hot mess. We aren’t prepared to deal with people who have jobs, homes and insurance etc. much less those who do not. Watch how overwhelmed the system gets in the next few weeks.
By LAoneWay on 03.12.20 1:29pm
In my fancy dreamland, we could use this as an opportunity to get everyone off the street and into some kind of mandatory treatment program. No excuses. No more urban camping.
By cherryo on 03.12.20 1:42pm
It’s a public health crisis on top of a public health crisis; there would be legal justification for forcing people into shelters.
By Greyvagabond on 03.12.20 2:54pm
Well maybe these pieces of shit like Bonin should have used the $1.2 Billion we gave them to actually build cheap housing so the homeless would have beds and bathrooms. China built an entire hospital in 10 days and these dipshits couldn’t build a single unit of housing for 3 years since HHH passed. If the homeless spread coronovirus or die it is entirely the fault of Bonin and every other city official that used HHH to fund their friends corrupt "non-profit" organizations and for corporate welfare to private developers.
By LADude on 03.12.20 2:02pm
Not sure we want to emulate Chinese hospital construction techniques.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/03/07/china/china-coronavirus-hotel-collapse/index.html
By Greyvagabond on 03.12.20 2:55pm
"The hotel was …built in 2013 and converted to a hotel in 2018…The owner began renovating the first floor in January. Workers called the owner around 7 p.m. local time on Saturday and told him a pillar had became distorted during construction…The building collapsed a few minutes later."
This is not unheard of in Asian countries including South Korea and Singapore each of which had a department store and hotel, respectively, collapse due to what is likely being overweight. Either way I hope you get my point that if a country can build a hospital in 10 days it shouldn’t take 3 years to build one luxury apartment building.
By LADude on 03.13.20 2:27pm
Yes, let’s spend a billion dollars on housing units to give to the mentally ill. Should we give them cars too? Guns?
We wouldn’t let thousands of Alzheimer’s patients wander around our streets, would we? Of course not! Would we just hand them keys to an apartment? Of course not! We’d round them up and put them in a facility where they can get professional help. For their safety and ours.
These people don’t want housing – they don’t know what they want! They’re sick! Until we face that fact, throwing money at them will never solve the problem.
By Cream Of Toast on 03.14.20 8:08am
Not. All. Of. Them.
By LosFeliz$ean on 03.14.20 3:48pm
Spot on!
By maw1989 on 03.14.20 8:38pm
This has the potential to get really bad. Especially since it is a rainy week and homeless people are likely to be closer to each other all day in tents to stay dry. We have kicked the can down the road for a long time in terms of health care and allowing people to live in tent cities, this could be the moment it finally catches up with everyone.
By Mr Balls on 03.12.20 3:10pm
In tents?!?! I wish. Try the library.
By Cleavon Little on 03.12.20 3:25pm
If they’ve been living on the streets for awhile, I’m pretty sure they’re immune to just about any virus.
By LATEACHER1X on 03.12.20 9:45pm
Absolutely everyone has a responsibility to end homelessness, if you’re not doing anything to end it then you’re definitely not entitled to an opinion about it…This is EVERYDAMNBODY’S fault, and it’s taking a plague to wake people up…WAKE UP AND DO SOMETHING…
By Teela Marie on 03.12.20 6:12pm
i’m going to do my part and move to another state.
By TheLastWhiteManInSouthCentral on 03.12.20 8:06pm
Sorry Teela Marie, but you are 100% wrong. Homelessness has become everyone’s problem but it is certainly not everyone’s fault. This is a democratic republic. We elect officials who represent us. Among other things, they create and enforce public policy. Many times, they come before the people with ballot measures (HHH being just one example) asking us for more and more money to address issues such as homelessness. Time and again, we say yes, with the expectancy that our tax dollars will be spent efficiently to adequately address these issues, and time and again our representatives fail us. Homelessness is absolutely not the public’s responsibility. If you’re looking to lay blame, start with groups like the ACLU that consistently run to the courts in a largely successful effort to create new rights for new protected classes. Efforts like these often tie the hands of feckless elected officials who consistently appeal to the the lowest common denominator in society. Pathetic. If you feel at fault for homelessness, so be it. But do not attempt to share that blame with others.
By cottenhampark on 03.12.20 9:42pm
We passed props H and HHH. You’re the one who needs to wake up.
By LATEACHER1X on 03.12.20 9:43pm
Teela, what are each of us as individuals supposed to do in order to end the homeless crisis? Not just help out for a day or help someone in need, but to end the crisis? Each of us individually can’t do anything. I individually can’t afford to buy land or build housing for the homeless. We pay taxes and vote yes on measures like HHH to give money to the elected officials to adopt policies to effectuate change. We gave them $1.2 Billion and they did jack shit. It’s their fault, not ours.
By LADude on 03.13.20 2:34pm
ya think?
pop some popcorn y’all. CA’s progressive policies are about to have a reckoning.
By TheLastWhiteManInSouthCentral on 03.12.20 8:06pm
Once Trump declares a national emergency don’t be surprised if he uses this as an opportunity to clear all of the homeless encampments in the name of public health. Trump has very little left to create positive political gain at this point.
By Mr Balls on 03.13.20 12:32pm
How’s Fantasyland these days?
By LosFeliz$ean on 03.13.20 1:20pm
Hahaha ! Thought you would bite on that. I just expected a little better There is a chance that the federal government will go full FEMA style with mandatory temporary tent housing for homeless and field hospitals for the sick and quarantined in order to keep the coronavirus contained. What else you got that is better right now to save lives ?
By Mr Balls on 03.13.20 2:08pm
Don’t worry, the number of cases is soon to be zero because SARS CoV II will miraculously disappear in April…or so says our Dear Orange Leader.
By LosFeliz$ean on 03.13.20 3:17pm
I honestly don’t think so. I think Trump is horrible at his job and the numbers will rise quickly (probably already are) and exhaust all our medical facilities . I was just stating how I think Trump will act based on how he has acted so far with his immigration agenda. We all know that plans have been in the works for months to embarrass LA and SF politicians by exercising a federal take over of the encampments.
By Mr Balls on 03.13.20 3:23pm
Sure. Whatever you say.
By LosFeliz$ean on 03.13.20 5:20pm