Chicago, much like St. Louis, and New York have faced challenges in their COVID-19 response, due to the congregate nature of the cities. More than 200 people experiencing homelessness have stayed in the isolation and quarantine hotel rooms, where they have been given free meals and received health care. One man, in particular, Joeal Hamlin, was the perfect candidate to live in these facilities. He had actually never been homeless before. He was living in his parents' basement when he overdosed on heroin laced with fentanyl. Hamlin went to receive treatment but was unable to return home when both of his parents contracted COVID-19. He found that social distancing was nearly impossible while living on the streets of Chicago and within shelters. Chicago's DFFS offered him the option to stay in one of the hotels.
Within the shelters and hotels, many homeless advocates are worried about where these individuals will go after COVID-19. The service providers and health officials are working with the Chicago Coordinated Entry System to find guest permanent housing. The crisis is pushing the whole system toward something that a few weeks ago would seem impossible, permanent affordable housing solutions. DFFS is looking for ways to place those who were hit hardest by COVID-19 into permanent housing, by diverting hotel funds into rental assistance.
San Francisco has been hit very hard by COVID-19, making national headlines. The pandemic could drive homelessness up as much as 45%. Currently, thousands of people remain unsheltered in San Francisco. Many business owners and residents are very frustrated as more encampments spring up across the city. San Francisco recently opened its first "Safe Sleeping Site" by City Hall. This is an area designated for homeless individuals to camp legally. The city has also acquired more than 2,000 hotel rooms to house the unsheltered. Many citizens are very against these camping sites and called on local leaders to look for other solutions. There is a pressing need for an immediate solution as San Francisco shelters' capacity has been reduced by 76% to allow for physical distancing. Many of these short-term solutions are like putting a bandaid on a gushing wound.
San Francisco has also stirred more controversy, in its harm reduction policies, within the hotels. The city's Public Health Department is giving alcohol to guests struggling with addiction as well as facilitating the delivery of cannabis to certain guests. Contra Costa County, about an hour outside of the city, has already spent $1,000 in public funding so far on substances. Officials have noted that the motivation for providing these substances is to prevent individuals from leaving the hotels and limiting the potential spread. The concept of harm reduction is offering drugs and alcohol to those who might otherwise experience life-threatening withdrawals. Many Californian tax-payers are upset at the city for using public funding to provide these substances. The city screens individuals multiple times within the hotel facilities, to determine what substances they would be uncomfortable with, and calculate how much assistance they require from addiction specialists.
Of the 15,000 hotel and motel rooms that California has leased for mostly homeless individuals, only half are being occupied. This is less than 5% of the 151,000 people living on the street. In many counties, that the delay in occupancy has been in preparation for leased rooms. There is an insufficient amount of service providers that can deal with such a large capacity of people.
Sacramento County is doing a lot more in terms of leasing hotels, two-thirds of the 420 rooms it leased are now full, but due to backlogging issues, it has held off on signing more. In Los Angeles, the Homeless Services Authority has filled most rooms available within two or three days. In San Diego, their big convention center is housing 1,200 individuals during the pandemic. The greatest issue that Californian counties are running into is a lack of coordination from the state and the inability to integrate and implement service providers into the hotel system. They have the means, but not enough manpower.
Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/21/us/san-francisco-homeless-tent-camps-covid-19-debate/index.html
https://www.businessinsider.com/san-francisco-homeless-hotels-coronavirus-alcohol-cannabis-2020-5