"Shelter in place" is impossible if you can't afford a home

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Social distancing and self-isolation have quickly emerged as essential public health responses to coronavirus. As of March 31, 270 million people in at least 33 states, 89 counties, and 29 cities across the US have been urged by their government officials to stay home. While these policies often come with seismic life disruptions, the vast majority of Americans are taking them seriously. Most of us don’t even think twice about it: we just stay home.

But “stay-at-home” orders are impossible to follow if you can’t afford a home in the first place. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that there are around 550,000 homeless individuals on any given night in America (others estimate that around 2 million people find themselves homeless in a given year).

Coronavirus has exposed the massive weaknesses in our already lacking social support infrastructure for the homeless. Shelters are too understaffed, under-resourced, and crowded to enforce proper social distancing and hygiene measures. Outdoor encampments lack basic sanitation. In some instances, the homeless are being shuttled into empty parking lots and told to sleep on asphalt.

These conditions are not only deeply inhumane — they are a major public health risk. The purpose of social distancing is to prevent putting additional pressure on our already at-capacity health care system. If coronavirus is allowed to rip through the homeless population, it will not only be a humanitarian disaster for the most vulnerable — it will overwhelm the health care system we all depend on.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/shelter-in-place-is-impossible-if-you-can-t-afford-a-home/ar-BB121krp?ocid=msn360

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

1. Very true

I've also seen articles about local homeless shelters closing due to COVID-19 outbreak. Where do the homeless people go? It is still pretty cold around here at night. You'd need special winter camping bag/gear to survive the night if you were tenting.

[lark]

2. My friends' son in CA is homeless.

He lives at a shelter, has his own private room that locks which has a small kitchenette and bathroom with shower and is locked down, which is a good thing because he has emotional control issues and is very abusive. San Jose, CA has the best homeless solution of any state I've heard of. Nothing like that would ever be done in FL, never. They only spend money for the rich.

[crickets]

3. The way we treat homelessness in this country is shameful.

Elizabeth Warren Wants $15.5 Billion To Help Homeless During Coronavirus Outbreak
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213219342

I am glad some of our congresspeople are thinking of them and trying to help.

[crickets]

4. Meanwhile in Las Vegas

Link to tweet

Las Vegas, #Nevada: Parking lot converted into 'homeless shelter' with social distancing markers #COVID #coronavirus #Covid_19

Video. Parking lots. Really.