Recommendations:
“Before a COVID-19 outbreak occurs in your community: Plan
Although it is not possible to know the course of the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States, preparing now is the best way to protect people experiencing homelessness, homeless service provider staff, and volunteers from this disease. An outbreak of COVID-19 in your community could cause illness among people experiencing homelessness, contribute to an increase in emergency shelter usage, and/or lead to illness and absenteeism among homeless service provider staff.” * (CDC 3/2020)
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has guidelines about what every community and service provider should be doing to address homelessness in this public health crisis. Housing First Umpqua supports these recommendations for our community.
This includes the recommendation about planning and setting up collaboration before an outbreak, which is now.
*
Although community members can help with some of the recommendations, others must be done by professionals and our local public officials at a county and city level, as well as our public health officer. Given the CDC understands the unique vulnerability and needs of this population and has made some clear guidelines for communities to follow, it would seem fool hardy, if not outright irresponsible, if our leaders did not do so.
These recommendations range from the call for collaboration among large segments of the community, which includes homeless advocates and those who are currently homeless, to specifics about how cities and the county can address specific problems only faced by those living outside. They also emphasize the importance of communication among emergency services, health care, public health, as well as homeless services providers to make sure that every community is doing what we need to in order to not only protect people who are homeless, but the community at large. The CDC recommendations make a clear framework for best practices in this pandemic.
How you can help:
Stay informed about what we are doing in our community.
HFU can help keep you updated here on Facebook.
A good way to stay informed about COVID 19 and Homeless Response is to connect with the National Low Income Housing Coalition: https://nlihc.org/coronavirus-and-housing-homelessness
If you have about an hour to learn more from the experts about what we should be doing, check out this webinar from the National Alliance to End Homelessness: COVID-19 Webinar Series: Serving & Supporting Unsheltered People During COVID-19
Housing First Umpqua is asking the City of Roseburg to provide adequate sanitation facilities where people are living outside during this pandemic. The CDC, as well as our own local public health department, recognize the need for sanitation as one of the highest priorities to keep people from spreading the COVID 19 virus, yet there are not sufficient washing stations and toilets in our community right now. Even the three porta potties downtown that were specifically put out for people who are homeless do not have hand-washing stations with them.
Although we applaud the city for the reduction in moving people around, the city has failed to provide a safe space for them, which they could also do by designating a park or other public space to be used for people to camp at safe distances from each other.
These things do not happen because the people who run the show think this is what you want. If it isn’t, you have the right to tell them.
You can volunteer to help in other ways during this COVID 19 emergency by contacting DCCOAD.
Douglas County Community Organizations Active in Disaster
DCCOAD is a volunteer organization created to bring together people in the community to provide assistance in times of disasters in our county. They have been on the forefront of trying to address needs specific to those who are homeless during our current COVID 19 health crisis.
This organization connects people who need help with those in the community who can help them. Housing First Umpqua recommends that you connect with DCCOAD, if you want to help people who are homeless in our current emergency, and also sign up with them. They will help plug you into the right place. You can also donate goods and they can make sure it ends up in the right place.
Stay up to date on what's going on in Douglas County with our local public health authority.
