Niagara’s homeless need COVID-19 shots
‘We’ve been really fortunate,’ says director of homeless services as few cases have emerged so far
Enhanced COVID-19 screening at Niagara’s homeless shelters and outreach services may have helped keep the virus from spreading throughout the vulnerable population, as the frigid temperatures hitting the region increase demand on homeless services.
But Niagara Region’s homelessness services director, Cathy Cousins, said the homeless population needs to be considered a priority group for vaccinations.
Cousins said about 350 people showing symptoms of COVID-19 when visiting homeless shelters and outreach programs were sent to the Region’s isolation shelter in Niagara Falls, where they could be tested for the virus and self-isolate. Of those, she said six people have tested positive for the virus since
the first cases were reported at the isolation shelter in early December.
While outbreaks of the virus have been reported in homeless facilities in large urban centres such as Toronto and Montreal, Cousins said Niagara’s cases are “still way low in the single digits.”
“We’ve been really fortunate,” she said. “Agencies do a really great job of screening people when they arrive in shelters.”
But considering the heightened risk the virus may pose for the vulnerable group, she said vaccinations must be scheduled as soon as possible.
“Being homeless is a difficult lifestyle and, as a result, you will be more medically compromised,” she said. “If you do get sick, you’re going to have a more severe form of the illness. It makes sense to include these people as a priority population in order to protect each other, to protect them and to protect the health system.”
She said the Region is working with Dr. Karl Stobbe, who leads the Regional Essential Access to Connected Healthcare (REACH) program, advocating for vaccinations for Niagara’s homeless population.
“What I would love to see for Niagara’s homeless is to have an opportunity to vaccinate our clients before the Out of the Cold program closes,” Cousins said, referring to the overnight shelter program managed by Start Me Up Niagara that ends for the season in April.
Meanwhile, Cousins said Niagara’s enhanced efforts to assist people struggling with homelessness during the pandemic have so far been enough to meet the needs, after the Region added 90 more shelter beds during the colder winter months.
Nevertheless, Cousins said there are still some people who choose to remain outdoors despite temperatures expected to plunge as low as –18 C this week.
“There are always some individuals who choose to remain living rough. That existed before COVID and it exists today,” Cousins said, adding outreach workers check on them regularly to ensure they’re safe.
She said Out of the Cold programs that typically offer overnight accommodations at Westminster United Church in St. Catharines and at St. Andrews United Church in Niagara
Falls have now also opened day shelters.
Outreach worker Pastor Bill Deguire, who has been working independently to assist homeless people throughout Niagara, said there are now about 30 people spending their nights outdoors throughout the region.
“We still have people out in the bush. We’re still serving people,” Deguire said, adding he distributes food and equipment they need to keep them safe during the cold nights.
Deguire said he has also been assisting people who have been staying with the Out of the Cold program, providing with warm clothing as they leave in the morning after their overnight stay.
Cousins advised anyone who knows of someone in need of help to call 211.