“It’s not as bad as I thought it would be”
While some larger cities have struggled to house the homeless during the pandemic, the Salvation Army says it’s a case of so far, so good at a temporary shelter set up at the organization’s community center on Clearlake Avenue.
“We are averaging about 40 people,” said Capt. Jeffrey Eddy of the Salvation Army. “We don’t allow people to come and go. It’s a safety issue. If we bring a virus in, it’s going to be terrible.”
In other cities, the homeless have proven vulnerable to the coronavirus. As of April 12, authorities in New York reported that 371 shelter residents had tested positive for the virus and 23 had died. According to a recent story in the New York Times, people are sleeping dormitory style in some shelters, with beds close enough that they can reach out and touch each other. In San Francisco, five positive tests at a shelter last Wednesday became 70 positive tests within two days. Authorities there have stopped breaking up homeless encampments and are allowing homeless people to set up tents so long as they are six feet apart.
In Springfield, the homeless who once panhandled from sidewalks and hung out at the downtown library have all but disappeared from city streets as traffic has nearly vanished with a statewide stayat-home order. With help from Helping Hands, which is providing staffing assistance, the Salvation Army community center has replaced the city’s winter warming center, which now will be used as a quarantine facility should the need arise.
“The biggest thing is, they have the space to be apart, so if a virus does get in, it’s not going to be as deadly,” Eddy said. “The rule is, if you leave, you can’t come back. We’re doing absolutely everything we can. We don’t want an outbreak here that spreads. This keeps the whole city safe.”
No new residents are being accepted unless they’ve been discharged from a hospital with proof that they are virus free, Eddy said. As many as 70 people stayed at the warming center during winter months to escape the cold. While other shelters won’t take people who are drunk or stoned, the warming center took everyone. All, also, were welcome at the Salvation Army community center when the warming center closed on March 21. Eddy says he doesn’t know where people are staying who aren’t welcome at other shelters and who aren’t staying at the community center. “Honestly, everybody seems to be finding a place to go,” he said.
In addition to the library, once a magnet for the city’s homeless, Washington Street Mission, which offered showers, morning coffee and a place to hang out during the day, is closed. In some ways, the community center is an oasis that offers showers and laundry and food. Van trips to gas stations to buy cigarettes and candy have been organized. “I kind of thought people would leave because it’s nice outside,” Eddy said. “They like being here. They’re worried for their safety – they’re just like you and I.”
The shelter, Eddy says, is temporary – after neighbors in 2017 objected, the Salvation Army withdrew plans for a permanent shelter. “It’s not sustainable,” Eddy says. But, for now at least, things are going well. And he is pleasantly surprised.
“It’s a really challenging time for the people who are there, but they seem to be very happy,” Eddy said. “It’s not as bad as I thought it would be – I thought it would be worse than it is.”
Contact Bruce Rushton at [email protected].
