COVID-19 locks down homeless shelters
Local facilities are keeping at least 130 homeless sheltered, but it's a strain
At least 130 homeless individuals are sheltering in place at shelters in Eureka and Arcata and service providers are saying they could use some help from the community.
Both Eureka Rescue Mission, which is currently serving around 80 people, and Arcata House Partnership, which is serving around 50 people in its shelter, said they are encouraging residents to stay inside and refrain from coming back if they leave. Bryan Hall Sr., executive director of the Eureka Rescue Mission, said local authorities and nonprofits have been coordinating on how to handle the situation and are trying to find out “if there’s some way to get people screened.”
“That way we can bring more people in if we need to,” Hall said, “but as per government orders, we are locked down, quarantined at the Mission.”
For the most part, the people who didn’t want to be in the shelter left when the containment order went into effect in the shelter, where clients can get three meals a day, said Darlene Spoor, executive director of Arcata House Partnership.
At the Eureka Rescue Mission, Hall said they’re popping popcorn, showing movies and “not forcing anyone to listen to religious sermons.”
“We just want to make sure we’re taking care of everybody,” Hall said.
Loss of income
But providing services has been a struggle because the Eureka Rescue Mission had to shut down its thrift store, which is main source of income, because it’s not considered an essential business, Hall said.
“We have no income now,” Hall said, and, as a result, the nonprofit has had to lay off around 16 or 17 people.
Hall said he’s been spending a lot of time searching for grants and writing letters to government officials, but at the moment the shelter is relying on private donations to keep its bills paid.
Toilet paper and food are also big needs for the shelter, Hall said.
The shelters are expecting about $300,000 each from the county to keep shelter operations going, Spoor said, but that’s not much in the grand scheme of things.
Arcata House Partnership has been able to retain all of its staff so far, Spoor said, but it’ll take community support to keep that going.
“We have to rely on donations of funds, so please don’t stop donating online or through the mail,” Spoor said. “Every $5 helps.”
Restaurants that closed down have been a big help so far, Spoor said, donating their remaining inventory to the shelter.
The people in the shelter feel grateful to have some place to be, but “an awful lot of people are on the street and what’s going to happen if the sickness hits them?” Spoor said.
“There’s no plan to contain the people who are on the streets,” Spoor said, and they don’t have access to restrooms or showers.
If that’s not addressed, a real disservice is being done to the community, she said.
The Department of Health and Human Services has begun putting up porta-potties and hand-washing stations in areas most frequented by people without housing and are planning to install more.
“There are currently weekly check-in meetings with community partners from organizations and agencies working with people experiencing homelessness where we’re identifying the needs and gaps for this population,” Christine Messinger, spokesperson for the department, wrote in an email.
“Currently, DHHS has also extended its Winter Shelter Program which serves families and disabled adults, as well as other similar programs so that clients who are currently housed can continue to shelter in place,” she wrote.
How to help
Donations to the Eureka Res