With Lost Jobs, Risk of Homelessness Is Up
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With lost jobs, risk of homelessness is up By Obed Manuel lies may get help from the city in Thompson and his son were liv- members scared of having an over- Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention DALLAS MORNING NEWS the form of a $6.8 million rapid ing in an apartment last year, but crowded house during a public Center would be the first priority housing proposal, the demand is after he was laid off from a previ- health crisis, Magnis said. for being housed, though. DALLAS — Terry Thompson was nothing new and may increase ous job, he was unable to pay rent “Life is already hard on these The city has consistently offered out of work, and if he didn’t act over the coming weeks, housing and was forced to move out. Then, families who are living at or below shelter to more than 300 people fast, he and his 10-year-old son, To- advocates say. The goal is to help his car broke down, adding to his poverty level, and that day-to-day daily at the convention center. ry, would be homeless. newly homeless families find hous- financial woes. existence is traumatic,” Magnis More than 100 are currently stay- It was mid-March when Thomp- ing and temporarily pay rent. “It was like bad dominoes falling said. ing in hotel rooms provided by the son, 49, who worked as a carpet Rapid rehousing is like a “jump- on me,” Thompson said. “It takes In 2019, Family Gateway re- city in the Love Field area. cleaner, saw his income dry up as start” for families who can work, time to get back on your feet and ceived about 1,500 calls from fami- Initial funding would come from the restaurants he served closed said Ellen Magnis, president and get yourself together.” lies who had shelter like a hotel or the city and include some federal their dining rooms to comply with CEO of Family Gateway, a nonprof- Thompson couldn’t save up were living with another family. money it had available. coronavirus health orders. it shelter that helps families find enough for a security deposit at an- The organization helped dozens The plan is to house individuals He soon would be unable to pay housing. other apartment, so he found the find a home through rapid rehous- who had been relocated to hotel the $270 a week for the Dallas hotel The nonprofit vets applicants el- only shelter he could: a hotel ing. rooms due to social distancing re- room he and his son had been liv- igible for rapid rehousing and — us- room. But paying $270 a week for About 99 percent of those Fami- quirements at overnight shelters, ing in for almost a year. ing state, city and federal dollars — the room “was killing me,” Thomp- ly Gateway served last year remain said Kevin Oden, interim director It seemed at first as though hotel helps them pay for security depos- son said. housed and more than half saw an of the city’s Office of Homeless So- management would be flexible giv- its, rent, bills and move-in costs for So when his employer told him increase in income, according to lutions. en the pandemic. But a week after ayear, Magnis said. in March that the carpet cleaning the nonprofit’s internal data. “The intent of this program is to he told them he couldn’t afford the The goal is to wean families off business would be temporarily And Dallas may soon offer more have a model that we are able to room, their “whole attitude the financial support throughout shut down, Thompson turned to rapid rehousing aid for families liv- successfully implement and use changed,” Thompson said. the year by helping them find bet- Family Gateway. The Dallas non- ing on the brink of homelessness. going forward to make substantial Without homes to call their ter jobs and providing a case man- profit placed him in a hotel and Dallas’ Office of Homeless Solu- gains in our efforts” to reduce own, families like Thompson’s in ager who advises them, Magnis connected him with local partner tions is proposing a $6.8 million homelessness, Oden added. Dallas have borne the brunt of the said. nonprofit, Housing Crisis Center. rapid rehousing program with a The Office of Homeless Solu- coronavirus’s financial impact es- Initial costs, such as security de- Family Gateway saw an increase goal of providing shelter for 300 tions is currently drafting a request pecially hard. As the economy posits and applications costs, often in calls for aid in March and April people by October. for proposals from service provid- closed, some lost jobs and, in turn, are a barrier for families that can from families and individuals who About 400 individuals whom ers, and the plan could come up their ability to pay for shelter. keep them from finding a home, could no longer pay for hotel the city is housing in hotels and the for a City Council vote by June 10, And while some of these fami- she said. rooms or were kicked out by family makeshift homeless shelter at the according to a city memo. cured. RESORT “I saw that article and said, ‘I From page A13 don’t think (my mother) was cured.’” authority for Galveston County Armstrong said the growth on who helped test 146 residents and Helen Edrozo’s neck was “unusu- employees at The Resort after the al” but couldn’t say what caused it initial outbreak there in late without reviewing hospital re- March. “This is what in medical cords. science we call anecdotal data — ‘I “She was treated and she had did this and it’s a story’— but what recovered from the COVID-19 and we really need are trials that will had a lot of other medical prob- tell us, compared to (another lems in addition to that,” Arm- drug), how did people do?” strong said. Neither The Resort nor the Gal- The doctor also treated Kristi veston County Health District has Doss’ mother, Janet Thomas, an- verified Armstrong’s claim that other Resort resident who had only three patients in his care tested positive for the virus. died. Through a spokeswoman, Doss, who is Thomas’ medical The Resort released a statement power of attorney, was initially saying11 residents who tested posi- wary when she heard Armstrong tive for the new coronavirus have was using an unproven medica- died but did not specify how many tion on her mother without her were treated by Armstrong with consent. Thomas gets regular dial- hydroxychloroquine. ysis treatment and has congestive Some relatives of nursing home heart failure, two conditions that residents treated by Armstrong the FDA highlights as worth telling have questioned his claim that 35 Jon Shapley /Staff file photo your medical provider about be- patients have recovered, primari- Dr. Robin Armstrong, medical director at The Resort at Texas City, prescribed hydroxychloroquine fore taking hydroxychloroquine. ly because the facility remains on to 38 residents who had tested positive for COVID-19 but had not yet shown symptoms. One month after Thomas’ ini- lockdown with active coronavirus tial treatment, she continues not cases. County health officials say to show any symptoms and has the facility recently retested 40 of had no adverse side effects from the 56 residents who were infec- the medication. But Thomas is still ted and found 19 still tested posi- testing positive for the virus, so tive; there were five new cases. Doss is hesitant to echo Arm- “I suspect that the virus is still strong’s assertion that she has re- (at The Resort) in at least some of covered and says nurses there these folks and that’s what’s re- need to “keep up the precau- sponsible for this low-level growth tions.” in the nursing homes that already have it,” Keiser said. BBB BBB Armstrong believes using the term “recovered” to refer to pa- At the center of the debate is tients who are no longer showing Armstrong, a Texas City native COVID-19 symptoms is largely a and married father of four who matter of semantics. He said the holds a medical degree from the CourtesyLarry Edrozo diagnostic test that The Resort is University of Texas Medical Larry Edrozo’s mother, Helen, using on its infected residents is Branch in Galveston and is also a Associated Press file photo died despite taking the drug. particularly sensitive, which is national committeeman for the Armstrong said 35 of the 38 patients to whom he gave the drug are why he believes residents without Republican Party of Texas. no longer showing symptoms and have in essence “recovered.” VID-19 symptoms, making her a symptoms continue to test posi- Armstrong has been eager to potentially ideal candidate for tive. share his story with news outlets and staff for the new coronavirus, roquine for emergency use in co- Armstrong’s treatment. Keiser, the local health author- across the state, from doing a Dal- following public pleas and a direc- ronavirus patients, then issued She received the medications ity, is puzzled by the stubborn per- las radio interview to inviting an tive from the White House.