On this edition of Your Call, we’ll get an update on how COVID-19 is spreading through San Francisco’s homeless population.
On Friday, weeks after homeless advocates began calling for hotel rooms, Mayor London Breed confirmed an outbreak of 70 new positive cases at MSC South, San Francisco’s largest homeless shelter. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, by Monday, a total of 91 people tested positive at the shelter, including 10 staff members. The city has secured local hotels for some homeless people, but doctors worry it’s not enough. How are other cities handling their homeless crisis?
Guests:
Joe Wilson, executive director and former client of Hospitality House
Joe Eskenazi, managing editor and columnist at Mission Local
Giselle Routhier, policy director at the Coalition for the Homeless in NYC
Web Resources:
Mission Local, Joe Eskenazi: ‘The Atlantic’ article about San Francisco is a fable. Here’s what’s really happening.
The Guardian, Vivian Ho: Wasted time: how San Francisco failed its homeless population amid coronavirus
Stat News, Allison Bond: As Covid-19 surges among San Francisco’s homeless, doctors face difficult choices
AP News, Christopher Weber: Massive effort to get Los Angeles homeless into hotels
NY Times, Nikita Stewart: 'It's a Time Bomb': 23 Die as Virus Hits Packed Homeless Shelters