Covid19 and The Homeless

Who is helping the homeless during the Covid19 crisis? How does a homeless person shelter in place or quarantine themselves during this lockdown? What will happen to the homeless when this virus gets into its population? How can I help the homeless during this time? Will the homeless be more or less likely to get sick?

Those and a hundred other homeless questions hit my inbox every day. And people don't like my answers. They ask me because I spoke at TED GLOBAL in 2009 about my own homelessness from 2006-2007. That doesn't make me an expert. It does mean I have a first-hand perspective and opinion about some of the challenges the homeless face. It doesn't mean I'm right. It means I have an experiential opinion. Here it is.

WHAT IS BEING DONE TO HELP THE HOMELESS? It depends on where you live. Mostly, it's not much. In some areas, soup kitchens are being closed to prevent the spread of the virus. In others, food is being handed out in take-out containers. People are giving more money and supplies in handouts, or less, depending on their own financial situation. There's a lot of talk of moving the homeless into hotels and motels and campgrounds.

My personal opinion is, that's not the best option, at least not for the 15-20% of the homeless who are chronically homeless, mentally ill, drug or alcohol addicts, or pedophiles and felons. Not all, but a significant number of them will trash the room, smear feces on the walls and into the carpet, have drug deals and drinking parties, and continue the typical behavior they have on the street. Clean sheets do not magically transform the homeless into model citizens. The hotel/motel owner would have to pick up the cost of decontamination, remodeling, and repairs after the crisis. Even with government "help" that's not likely to cover their cost.

The "working homeless," especially those with families and young children, would probably benefit from being able to stay in a hotel for 3-9 months. They're less likely to trash their rooms and most would, I believe, use the time to plan a way out of their situation. The hotel owners will get some financial help from the government (we hope), and at least the rooms would be occupied and less susceptible to the issues rooms have when they're not. By the time anyone figures out how to make it work, how to find "good" candidates, this crisis will be nearing an end. So, it's doable but it would take enormous efforts on the parts of many. I suggest tapping into the people in administrative fields already at home to do the organizing and work needed.

HELPFUL OPTIONS It would be very helpful if the government can find or designate areas (like church parking lots) that aren't being used and set up tent cities in the parking lot with the appropriate social distance between each tent. Bring in porta-potties, and washing stations for hand sanitizing. Get the homeless themselves to sanitize the stations, porta-potties, etc. Churches, Mosques, etc. can do this to continue their Christian/Muslim ministry while they've curtailed services. Businesses that are closed due to the virus can do this too, and seek compensation from the government as bills are passed. Get your local politicians on board with this by pointing out the money they'll save, and the number of people they'll be able to contain safely and inexpensively at the same time.

WHY ARE THE HOMELESS, HOMELESS? The number one reason people are homeless is the lack of affordable housing. 15-20 percent of the homeless are mentally ill, drug or alcohol addicts, sex workers, recently released felons, people with mental and physical disabilities that prevent them from holding down a job, or functioning in society. The other 80-85% are the "working homeless," who simply can't afford housing.

HOW DOES A HOMELESS PERSON SHELTER IN PLACE OR QUARANTINE THEMSELVES DURING A LOCKDOWN? They don't. If you aren't reading or watching the news, then you may not be aware that some localities are releasing prison inmates (the violent ones by the way) to avoid the spread of the virus in prison conditions. Not smart. Many have no place to go, don't follow rules or laws, and are more likely to engage in risk behaviors where they'll get the disease and be more likely to spread it. Plus, most will be homeless when they get out because they won't be able to get jobs when others around them are losing theirs. Unemployment is expected to hit 20% in the coming weeks.

So, if the "solution" to stopping the virus in prison populations where there are beds, access to medical care, facilities for hand-washing, and shelter, food, etc. is to turn felons out into the street, I don't really foresee a better solution for the homeless already on the street. Homeless people will take advantage of the sudden surge of concern (from some) during this time, but then people will become consumed (if they aren't already) for their own well-being and safety. Since 80-90% of those contracting the virus exhibit few or mild symptoms, most will never know they have it. They will overwhelm the medical system (as they already do). They are a more at-risk population than the elderly because they already have serious health issues. In fact, many of the homeless are homeless because of health issues. According the National Coalition of the Homeless:

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, people living in shelters are more than twice as likely to have a disability compared to the general population. On a given night in 2017, 20 percent of the homeless population reported having a serious mental illness, 16 percent conditions related to chronic substance abuse, and more than 10,000 people had HIV/AIDS.

Conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and HIV/AIDS are found at high rates among the homeless population, sometimes three to six times higher than that of the general population.

People who have mental health and substance use disorders and who are homeless are more likely to have immediate, life-threatening physical illnesses and live in dangerous conditions. Also, more than 10 percent of people who seek substance abuse or mental health treatment in our public health system are homeless.

WHY DOESN'T MY GOVERNMENT HELP THEM? I hate to break it to millennials, and anyone under the age of 45, but like it or not, life is all about the money. While many progressives and liberals like to think you can wave a magic wand and solutions just fall into place, think again. They don't. Consider yourself lucky if you have it, and screwed if you don't when it comes to a situation this immense. Governments didn't care that much about the homeless before this and unless it impacts them financially or in terms of other resources (medical, looting, crime spikes, etc.) they won't care about them during the crisis. People may feel sorry for the homeless and donate more, or not. If they themselves have lost a job or are at risk of becoming homeless if this thing lasts a year as predicted by some, handouts will dwindle. I've talked to foodservice waiters and waitresses and their tips are down because of take-out rather than sit-down service. Someone who used to make $5-$20 a table is now seeing $2-$5. For single moms, that's a huge hit. So, the homeless can't expect much difference.

WHAT WILL THEY DO? They will get the virus and die, or not—just like the rest of us. I'm not sure who spread the rumor that life is supposed to be easy, fair, and comfortable, but they lied. Life is hard, and then you die. You may find God, or Jesus, or a spiritual practice to help you navigate the stresses and pain, but everybody has a hard life. Some have it harder than others. If you look at the drug use and suicide rate of the wealthy, celebrities, and those who appear to "have it all," you'll see. We all struggle. No, it's not fair that they are more at risk, but that's life. You don't have to like it, but you do have to accept it—especially if you want to change it.

I answered someone on Quora about this, this morning. They said, "You are assuming worst-case scenario. I’m trying to avoid worst-case scenario by facilitating social distancing for that population. I’m open to other solutions." I replied:

"Yes, unfortunately, that’s what businesspeople (successful ones anyway) and governments, and bankers do to ensure they aren’t caught with their pants down when the SHTF. Imagine going cross country after taking Google maps word for how much gas it takes and the cost. Google maps doesn’t figure worst case scenario - but what if you were the driver who was told it would take $450 in gas, but then gas prices go up mid-trip, and you get lost for 100 miles or have to detour 200 miles to avoid a landslide area (all happened to me). If you hadn’t planned for a worst-case scenario you’d be out of gas on the side of the road. That’s exactly WHY people plan for a worst-case scenario - to avoid it. By avoiding worst-case scenarios in your planning you create MORE problems when it happens. You become a burden to others, destroy what you’ve built, and hurt the credibility of the effort so others are less likely to invest in the future. Best case scenario would be a long-term plan, investors, etc. and not a by-the-seat-of-your-pants grab during a crisis. The homeless have always, and will always be at greater risk, have more issues, and not live as long as a housed person. That’s reality. I’m sorry."

WHAT CAN I DO? You can give them toilet paper, hand sanitizer, socks, bottled water, aspirin, (NOT Tylenol, Ibuprofen or other NSAIDs as they make having the virus more deadly). You can also make sure you wash your hands and keep a good social distance.

SUMMARY I hate to be "Debbie Downer," but I'm being realistic. Just because there's a new virus in town doesn't change the funding and housing sources needed to end homelessness. There will be places, agencies, churches, and individuals who make a difference in the lives of a few of America's 567,715 homeless, (171,670 of those people in families), for the most part, there will be no effort on government's part, to do anything to help, only whatever is necessary to keep the homeless population from infecting others.

If you want to help, contact your local shelters, churches, or organizations that work with the homeless to see what is needed. If you can find it or make it, hand out large bottles of hand sanitizers, toilet paper, N95 masks so they don't infect their neighbors if they're sick. The masks don't prevent the virus, but they do help prevent the spread of the virus.

Hand out single-serve packages of healthy food, fruit, and tuna, canned chicken or other things that don't need to be heated. With many facilities closed, access to microwaves to heat food is gone.

If you have more questions about the homeless, spend some time on the endhomelessness.org website.