S.B. County Develops Plan to Help Homeless Persons During COVID-19 Crisis
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https://www.fontanaheraldnews.com/news/inland_empire_news/s-b-county-develops-plan-to-help- homeless-persons-during-covid-19-crisis/article_ef0e5c46-7ddc-11ea-9d12-93e75ca1202d.html S.B. County develops plan to help homeless persons during COVID-19 crisis Apr 13, 2020 Supervisor Josie Gonzales said that San Bernardino County has developed a plan to help homeless persons during the COVID-19 crisis. San Bernardino County has developed a COVID-19 Homeless Response Plan that will utilize guidelines from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to identify opportunities to place homeless individuals in temporary housing, according to 5th District Supervisor Josie Gonzales. "The homeless remain extremely susceptible to COVID-19 due to their inability to self-isolate or practice social distancing because of their current living conditions," Gonzales said in announcing the plan on April 13. There are more than 2,000 unsheltered homeless in San Bernardino County, and about 300 of them are considered medically vulnerable because they are age 65 or older and/or have serious underlying health conditions. "We need to move swiftly to get these individuals o the streets and into housing so we can atten the curve for all of San Bernardino County," Gonzales said. The county's plan will focus on housing those who are most at-risk due to age and/or underlining health conditions, she said. "It is critical that we work together to stop the spread of COVID-19. This includes assisting the homeless who live in our communities and have no option but to seek help from others during this time of crisis. We must act quickly and decisively so we can lessen the impact of this pandemic and save lives," she said. The county and the regional homeless Continuum of Care (CoC) are working together to identify sites to house unsheltered homeless persons meeting high-risk priorities and quarantine unsheltered homeless persons who are at-risk and/or COVID-19 positive. The goal is to identify hotels and motels throughout the region in multiple jurisdictions to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the unsheltered community. The county will also utilize 20 travel trailers acquired from the state, located at Glen Helen Regional Park, a county-owned facility. The use of these facilities for the unsheltered homeless and medically stable COVID-19 patients will be secured for three months and will end upon the rescinding of the state order for counties to develop their homeless plan. The county does not have an agreement in place yet with any of the hotels or motels in Fontana, the county said. ----- DETAILS of the plan include: • The Homeless Coordinated Entry System (CES) and the Sheri’s Homeless Outreach and Proactive Enforcement (HOPE) team will help identify high-risk unsheltered individuals. • Persons meeting the requirements of the hotel/motel use can contact CES through Inland Empire United Way at 2-1-1 or the Sheri’s HOPE team number at 1-844-811-HOPE (4673). • Each client entered into a hotel/motel room will be connected with a case manager through one of the current Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) or Homeless Partnership homeless service providers. • O-site homeless services providers and Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) sta will provide case management services. • The county, in conjunction with Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) and Molina Healthcare, will organize meal services. • Security will be provided 24/7 at each site where individuals are placed. Once the state order has been lifted, those homeless individuals that have not been connected to permanent housing will be diverted to the appropriate homeless services provider and returned to where they were originally staying as identied by the outreach team. Gonzales is the vice chair of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors and founder/chair of the San Bernardino County Interagency Council on Homelessness. San Bernardino County’s effort to shelter homeless underway By Maryjoy Duncan - April 13, 2020 Photo MJ Duncan: 20 trailers have been set up at Glen Helen Regional Park in Devore to house homeless individuals. In alignment with Governor Gavin Newsom’s Project Roomkey to shelter extremely vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness to protect them from COVID-19 by securing hotel rooms and travel trailers, the County of San Bernardino unveiled 20 state- funded trailers set up at Glen Helen Regional Park in Devore on Monday, April 13. According to San Bernardino County Second District Supervisor Janice Rutherford the trailers provide the opportunity to place “high risk individuals off the street and in shelter for their safety and for the wellbeing of the greater community.” Photo MJ Duncan: Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Josie Gonzales and Sheriff John McMahon preview the state-funded trailers. Each trailer can house one person or a family of two. Occupants will sign agreements requiring them to remain on the park grounds for the duration of the emergency. According to CaSonya Thomas, San Bernardino County Human Services Assistant Executive Officer, individuals are being identified by the County Department of Public Health and the Hospital Association to be placed in trailers over the next few days, those who need isolation who are either COVID-19 positive or COVID-19 exposed but do not require hospitalization or ready for hospital discharge. “High risk population individuals 65 and older, and underlying health conditions – those are the priority groups established through the Governor’s Project Roomkey,” Thomas explained. “Our model’s purpose is prioritizing the homeless population along with that policy outline.” 26 people have been placed in a San Bernardino hotel and the County is working on agreements with other lodging facilities in cities throughout the county to house additional homeless individuals and families. “That’s the starting point – working with those hotels within those various communities then trying to align what they offer and with what our needs for the homeless are,” Thomas added. The use of hotel units and trailers for the unsheltered homeless and medically stable COVID-19 patients will be secured for three months and will terminate upon the rescinding of the State order. “The County is maximizing our collective effort to fight this health crisis head-on, which demands the necessary and expedient action of sheltering the homeless in place to reduce the spread of the virus and protect everyone’s safety,” said Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Josie Gonzales, who is also founder and chair of the San Bernardino County Interagency Council on Homelessness. “We must value the efforts and sacrifices of those who are sheltering at home, by using every means possible to ensure everyone is sheltered in place in order to abate the fast spread of COVID-19.” There are more than 2,000 unsheltered homeless individuals living in San Bernardino County. There are approximately 300 homeless identified as extremely high risk by medical doctors due to their age and serious health conditions. The County’s goal is to secure at least 300 units throughout the county in multiple communities as quickly as possible to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the unsheltered community and the entire county population. “Although COVID-19 has forced everyone in our community to make difficult decisions, it has also provided us with an unprecedented opportunity to support people experiencing homelessness,” said San Bernardino County Chief Executive Officer Gary McBride. “Homeless individuals, who once declined the offer for immediate supportive housing, now, like the rest of us, desire protection against COVID-19 in the safety and comfort of a shelter’s four walls. Our hope is that through this crisis, some homeless individuals will recognize the county and the community’s commitment to end homelessness and seek extended services which lead to permanent housing, employment, wellness, and resiliency.” Off-site homeless service providers and Department of Behavioral Health staff will provide case management services by phone. The County of San Bernardino, along with Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) and Molina Healthcare, will organize meal services, and security will be provided 24/7 at each site where individuals are placed. Once the State order has been lifted, those homeless individuals who have not been connected to permanent housing will be diverted to the appropriate homeless service provider and returned to where they were originally staying as identified by the outreach team. Maryjoy Duncan Maryjoy Duncan, Managing Editor of Inland Empire Community News (comprised of the El Chicano, Colton Courier and Rialto Record), was chosen as one of 25 recipients from over 1,000 school districts in the State of California to receive the California School Boards Association’s 2018 Golden Quill Award, presented in recognition of fair, insightful and accurate reporting on public school news. Maryjoy is also a Guest Teacher with the San Bernardino City Unified School District. For news leads, she can be reached by email: [email protected], or by phone: (909) 381-9898 ext. 207. San Bernardino County creates coalition to help recover after coronavirus pandemic – San Bernardino Sun LOCAL NEWS • News San Bernardino County creates coalition to help recover after coronavirus pandemic By SANDRA EMERSON | [email protected] | PUBLISHED: April 13, 2020 at 6:23 p.m. | UPDATED: April 13, 2020 at 9:46 p.m. A coalition of private and public agencies will soon start planning San Bernardino County’s recovery from the novel coronavirus pandemic. County officials have created a San Bernardino County COVID-19 Recovery Coalition, led by Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman, county officials said in a Monday, April 13, news release. “The impacts of this pandemic are already deep and far-reaching in terms of our local economy, government resources, and the basic structure of our society,” Hagman said in a statement.