City Develops Plan for Homeless During Virus Crisis

Dealing with helping the home­less population in Boston during the current COVID-19 public health emergency is an important part of stopping the spreading of the virus while providing care and health services to those in need.

A comprehensive plan for homeless individuals has been cre­ated by the City of Boston to deal with the public health emergency.

The City will coordinat­ed network of shelter providers and under the clinical leadership of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) has implemented screening protocols for shelter uses and created facil­ities for testing, isolation in quar­antine of individuals exposed, sus­pected or diagnosed with COVID-19.

The City has apparently secured over 240 beds to increase social distancing and existing shel­ters and aid those in need of the home to safely quarantine or iso­late themselves and reduce further spread of the virus. Boston Mayor Martin Walsh has committed to protect all resi­dents including those experiencing homelessness and working closely with city partners has developed a plan to protect the homeless pop­ulation and will also provide help safety for the entire city.

“Together with our partners, we have spent the last several years strengthening our ability to protect the health of our home­less population, no matter what challenges come our way,” Mayor Martin Walsh said.

“We will continue to ramp up resources as necessary to serve everyone in our City with the key and equity they deserve. We are fully committed to protect all of our residents, including those experiencing homelessness, because life is worth protecting,” Mayor Martin Walsh said.

Boston Health Care for the Homeless Cheap Executive Officer Barry Bock said, “We appreciate the Mayor’s leadership in this time of crisis and are grateful for the joint partnership to combat this pandemic.”

The City, with support from Suffolk Construction has built an isolation and quarantine facility with the capacity of 38 beds next to the 112 Southampton Shelter for people to receive much needed medical attention.

Suffolk Chairman and CEO John Fish said, “We must care for one another and never forget the individuals and families in our community who need us most, especially during these unprece­dented times.”

Suffolk University will be repur­posing a dormitory to provide 172 beds, helping to reduce congestion and increase social distancing and existing shelters in Boston, accord­ing to President Marisa Kelly.

These sites will enable shel­ters to get some vulnerable guests especially the elderly out of crowd­ed facilities, according to Pine Street Inn President and Executive Director Lyndia Downie.