Houston restaurants seize chance to make second ‘first impression.’
More people are expected to join the ranks of those in need as their rents become due
Homeless Houstonians can call a hotline to get tested for the novel coronavirus, Mayor Sylvester Turner announced Tuesday.
Turner made the announcement from the Fonde Community Center — usually a rec center, now repurposed to help Houston’s homeless shelters spread out clients and enable social distancing. Fonde, run by the Salvation Army, can hold 150 people.
As coronavirus ravages the country, people living on the streets — who already have underlying health conditions and have little access to health or hygiene — are particularly vulnerable. Cities have scrambled to get people off the streets and prevent mass outbreaks at shelters.
“To literally prevent people from dying on the streets, our city worked quickly,” Turner said, flanked by officials and members of agencies serving the homeless population.
Outreach teams have been distributing face masks. The city has placed 20 hand-washing stations in areas with a high population of people experiencing homelessness, the mayor said.
For Houstonian experiencing homelessness who need testing, a special cab that is run through Houston METRO will get and take them to a testing area operated by Healthcare for the Homeless. If an individual tests positive (or is referred through a hospital), the person will be brought to a joint city-county quarantine facility.
Marc Eichenbaum, special assistant to the mayor for homeless initiatives, was unable to say how many people had been tested through the city’s testing line and did not provide a number on how many were in the quarantine center.
Eichenbaum warned that coronavirus left thousands of Hous
tonians just managing to stay housed and vulnerable to homelessness. While the Texas Supreme Court extended an order suspending evictions through May 18, agencies and advocacy groups are bracing for a flood of evictions because people out of work simply can’t pay rent.
“The true impact of CO
VID-19 on homelessness will not be felt today,” Eichenbaum said. “It will not be felt tomorrow. It will be felt in the months and years to come.”