Homeless services are not subject to the state and Madison/Dane County Public Health coronavirus orders limited gathering to 10 or more people, instead, homeless people are being forced to congregate to get life sustaining needs met – food, shelter, etc.Homeless individuals, particularly the homeless men, are still congregating in large numbers – they are not limited to gatherings of 10 or more. Instead they are gathering in number of 100 in close spaces that make social distancing difficult. In order to get services, people have to either go to the Beacon or the shelters. It’s possible outreach workers may be working with some folks, but typically they only work with the top 30 people on the list and many of the services (Off the Square Club, Friends of the State Street Family, Mach 1 Health, Briarpatch, Beacon has no service partners, Bethel Homeless Services, 1st United Hope’s Home Ministries, VA Homeless program and DAIS ) are shut down or working on limited capacity.
It’s been difficult to get information about what is going on – and being in a high risk category I’m not able to be there, volunteering on the ground where I would like to be. So, we wait for updates and action. Two recent updates are of note.
SATURDAY UPDATE
SUNDAY UPDATE
This was sent to the entire Homeless Services Consortium from Sarah Lim in the Community Development Division. I just have to point out to note the lesser health standards people without homes are being subject to.
Dear HSC partners,
Several motel/hotels are being used as alternate sites for people residing at emergency shelters or on the streets. Here are the latest (and overdue) updates:
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- Hotels for families who were staying at the Salvation Army Family Shelter
In order to achieve much needed social distancing for families and single women, Salvation Army moved all the families who were staying at the family shelter to hotels last week. Single women are still staying at the shelter. 22 family rooms at the shelter will now be mostly used to provide additional protection for vulnerable single women.
When a new family contacts to stay at the Salvation Army shelter, diversion services and financial assistance are offered first. Diversion financial assistance funds have been increased and Salvation army has been able to divert several families. As there are limited hotel units available, we have decided that families who can’t be diverted will be offered to come into the family shelter facility (if they have not used the shelter in the last month) or offered a hotel unit (if they have used the shelter in the last month).
Salvation Army case management staff is actively working with all the families who moved to the hotels. Dane County arranged food catering services for the families at hotels.
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- Medical hotel units for people needing to self-quarantine or isolate
There are hotel beds available for people who have COVID-19 symptoms. We expect most of the referrals come from the hospitals and clinics for people they have tested for the virus. Considering that most people who contact the healthcare are not being tested and told to stay home and rest, we made an exception for certain shelters that cannot designate a separate space for people with symptoms to be able to refer directly to the medical hotel program. The shelters that fit this category have been provided with referral protocol and forms. Referrals are processed by the Salvation Army.
Meals are catered to these hotel units as well. We identified the need to check on these individuals and families regularly and are working with volunteers and HSC partners to do that.
The city and county are actively working on establishing an alternate site with staffing for people experiencing homelessness and needing self-quarantine or isolation. We will let you know when this gets established.
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- Hotels for vulnerable population
We are identifying individuals who are at higher risk of severe illness who are residing at emergency shelters or on the streets and preemptively moving them to hotels. CDC identifies the following groups of people are at higher risk: older adults, people with severe and chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, lung disease, and pregnant women. At this point, we are prioritizing people who are in 2+ CDC high risk categories, people who are age 65+, and people who have frequent hospital stays. Our intent is to prioritize and move the most vulnerable first. As we move more people to hotels and more hotel units get secured, we will expand the priority criteria. The initial list was created by running WISP reports for shelters and outreach programs and taking additional outreach provider referrals (for those who are not on WISP). Several providers have been actively involved in this effort by reviewing the list, adding referrals, locating people and providing orientation, and helping them move to hotels. Metro has been providing direct transportation from the Beacon to hotels. As the Salvation Army single women shelter was able to meet the social distancing requirement of 6 feet between persons, we are currently moving people from single men’s shelter and people on the streets.
So far 33 individuals moved into one hotel, most of them had 2+ conditions (age 60+ and chronic medical conditions). We are hoping to move up to 40 individuals on Monday.
People who moved to the hotel will receive three meals prepared by caters and delivered by volunteers to their rooms. Laundry is another basic need that we are working on solving. We are actively working on securing on-site supportive service staffing and regular phone check-ins for people staying at these hotels.
If you are concerned about people who are currently at shelter or on the streets and meet the priority criteria (people who are in 2+ CDC high risk categories, people who are age 65+, and people who have frequent hospital stays), the chances are we already identified them on our priority list. But feel free to email their information to Sarah Lim (slim@cityofmadison.com) and I will double check that they are on the list.
I have been working closely with our County and Public Health partners as well as Torrie and other city staff. We are painfully aware that we have not been good at communicating these developments with our HSC partners. It’s been a very busy couple weeks and writing update emails often got pushed back on the to-do list. However, we know how important it is to provide up to date information to our partners who are working for the same population and resolve to do better.
On behalf of the city, county and public health, I sincerely thank all HSC partners who have been working day and night to make these things happen. Your courage, compassion, leadership shine even brighter during this time of crisis. Thank you.
BLOWN OFF BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT
I tried to reach out to elected officials (city council and mayor’s office) on Thursday because I believe the staff and the non-profits are incredibly stressed and working their asses off right now and they (and the nonprofits) need resources and support. They are putting their bodies on the line to respond to this community need. Resources and support are happening for other people, but the homeless folks and staff at the nonprofits seem forgotten. Not a priority. And with the city committee system shut down, there is no place to take these concerns except to the elected officials. So here’s what I had to say:
Some of you heard some of this (I added in several places) from me already, please read for the added portions.
This headline has been bugging me since I read it . . . it sends a HORRIBLE message to people.
I’m hearing from Executive Directors saying the government isn’t giving them guidance. I’m hearing from people impacted who are freaking out and thinking that help is NOT on the way. I’m looking at organizers knowing that something needs to be done (besides feeding people) and feeling like there is not a government to push for actions. I’m trying to sit back and see where things settle in the next week – and what the greatest needs are. But people are longing for leadership – and information. And leaders who share information.
Response from Council President
I don’t even have it in me to respond, Brenda. Kindness in times of crisis create a better world. Happy Iranian New Year. May light win over darkeness.
Response from the Mayor
Understandably, the mayor didn’t take the time to respond. I wouldn’t have expected it. But I haven’t heard from any of her staff either. This was the only response I got from the mayor:
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to contact The Mayor’s Office.
Due to the high volume of messages we’re receiving right now, I ask that you refer to the linked below for the most updated information regarding COVID-19 in our city. Please know we are working diligently to get back to everyone and will respond to you as soon as we can.
Madison & Dance County Public Health: https://publichealthmdc.com/coronavirus
City Service: https://www.cityofmadison.com/health-safety/coronavirus
Mayor’s Blog: https://www.cityofmadison.com/mayor/blog
Warmly,
Mayor Satya
MY RESPONSE TO COUNCIL PRESIDENT SHIVA BIDAR
I did respond to Alder Bidar and did not get any further responses:
Kindness?
You don’t need to be in this alone, there are people who can help if you let us and communicate with us.
There is nothing unkind in my message. Unkind is not acting and putting my friends in the homeless community at greater risk than 98% of the population. I know they may not be a priority right now, but they should be as much of a priority as the businesses, the elderly and the children.
That would be kindness.
I have no time for tone police in this crisis. The problem is real and urgent. It is not unkind to point that out. Something should have been done days ago. The longer we wait, the more people will die in the homeless community.
