I’ve been here for four years, going on five. It’s been a good place to stay. Nobody
drinks, nobody smokes. Kent Dull, a 64 years old resident of the
“Here There” camp, lives along busy street in Berkeley, California.
Yeah, I’ve got Parkinson's disease for the past 16 years. 16 years of debilitation. Debilitation
takes its toll on me now I'm getting older.
I've never seen anything like this in my lifetime. We had to close things down. I'm not really
worried about it. I know the symptoms, I know the protections, and I go with them everyday.
As for Newsom’s plan, those state-rented hotel rooms are not for everyone — only
those who’ve tested positive for the coronavirus or at a heightened risk of contracting it.
The state can only seek reimbursement from the Trump administration in those cases.
And the state says it’s keeping many of those rooms empty, in case there’s a surge
of homeless people with the virus. “When it’s a severe winter, get homeless
in hotels. If it’s a hot summer, they get homeless in hotels. It shouldn't take this,
this kind of event to get homeless into hotels, especially the most vulnerable. I didn't ever
want to be vulnerable or sick, but I am.” If homeless people living outdoors show no
symptoms of the virus and state and local authorities can’t offer them private rooms,
federal health experts say the best option is to leave them where they are.
Moving them to shelters just risks spreading the virus.
They have marks at the front desk ‘cuz you have to check-in between 2 and 4. And also
downstairs in the basement where we have our cafeteria. They have marks for standing in
line at least four to six feet apart from each other. Other than that, literally at
those three places is he only time that happens, if that. I feel like they might be trying,
but it’s not really too much you can do in a shelter setting.
Ambriss Holyfield has lived at the Next Door shelter in San Francisco for a few months.
Shelters are notoriously crowded, and some even housed residents in bunk beds. As awareness
of the coronavirus danger grew, and outbreaks erupted within shelters, a new question emerged:
How to expand shelter capacity without turning them into potential death traps for the poor?
They have recently moved all of the clients that are 60 and over to hotels and there's
a lot more space. They've separated everybody on the floor quite a bit. There's at least
two or three bed spaces in between most of us now. I actually like to have a whole section
of the floor to myself almost. But before that, before they started moving
out all the more elderly or sickly people, social distancing did not exist. Within the
shelter, it’s kind of hectic ‘cuz, at this time, with the rules that they have implemented,
as far as time limits on being able to go outside because they’re trying to cut down
on spreading the virus. That part is a little hectic. I believe there's a lot of cabin fever
syndrome going on.
Most people, they stop them before they even get to the door. You know, where you go when
you go to smoke? You got 10 minutes. If you're not back in ten minutes, you have to have
a mask on when you come back in. If you don't, we gotta kick you out. If you're going on
an errand run, or if you’re going to an appointment, you got one or two hours. If
you're not back within that time, they’re trying to drop people's beds, which I think
is terrible because there's literally no shelter taking anyone in. They’re not making any
more reservations for anybody. If you're outside now, at this point, you’re just outside.
“Okay. As you can see, we have all of these trailers out here. This is just a little bit
of them. Ashley Hammond lives in a government-sponsored
RV park in Oakland, California. A state grant covers electricity, drinking water, shower
services and other costs.
They came today and cleaned the porta potties, but they’re still disgusting to me.
Hmm...this one’s not so bad on the inside. “We use a handwashing station here, but
there’s no soap. No soap on the other side either. Makes it really hard not to contract
this virus here.”
Someone will contract the virus here. I'm surprised someone hasn't already. It's only
a matter of time. The only thing I can do to keep myself safe while I'm out is covering
my face, wearing gloves. I have hand sanitizer bottles all over my house and I try to keep
myself inside. As much as possible because I don't want to get sick or have my kids get
sick or my mom gets sick. “Having running water is like such a gift.
Also wifi and um, electricity. Those are things you only have in a housing kind of situation.
You don’t even have as much access in a shelter. Everything is shared.”
“Are you hungry? Give me five, on the other side. Good job.
Sandy Myskowski moved into a state-funded hotel room in a San Diego hotel room after
experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. “So, I just got a call from hotel staff
that they have to shut the water off for maintenance today. Right as I was about to start my morning
routine.”
“I used this method when I was in my car. I was in my car for two years before it got
impounded. Even when I lived at the shelter, in my bunk because we had three sinks for
80 women. That doesn’t go very well. Look, I have a toothbrush holder. That’s like
being normal again.” California’s new normal is swiftly approaching
and still not clear.
There’s little agreement in the state about whether all homeless people should be placed
in private rooms, and if so, who pays. Theoretically, San Francisco’s city attorney says the city
has the right to commandeer vacant rooms, of which there are tens of thousands, to house
homeless people in a pandemic. Newsom has the same power, but hasn’t gone that far.
“We have organized, with Motel 6, we have organized some language that would allow that
process to take shape, make it more easier, beyond this pandemic to potentially consider
these sites as a broader portfolio to provide permanently for those most in need in the
state of California.” Meanwhile, for many, the search for housing
is as elusive as ever. “I signed up for email alerts from the DAHLIA
Housing Housing Lottery. And I won. I won a studio apartment, a nice studio apartment
on 38th Harriett. And as soon as I won and began the application process, the lockdown
started. Now, Ambriss’ application is on hold, indefinitely.
Learn more about California’s response to Covid-19 at CalMatters.org.
For CalMatters, I’m Byrhonda Lyons