Homeless in a pandemic: Here’s how Washington cities are responding amid coronavirus

Homelessness is a persistent issue in cities across Washington, but the coronavirus pandemic is presenting new challenges for communities as they try to curb the spread of COVID-19 among vulnerable populations.

As of January 2019, Washington had nearly 21,600 people experiencing homelessness on any given day, according to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness.

In some of the state’s largest cities, communities are struggling to adapt programs aimed at helping homeless populations amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Seattle and King County have prioritized providing resources and care for people living unsheltered, such as expanding shelter capacity and creating isolation or quarantine spaces for suspected cases, according to the Joint Information Center for the City of Seattle.

The city also opened the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall to help relieve capacity at the city’s most high-use shelters, Seattle Human Services said in a blog post on March 17.

Across the Cascade Mountains, Spokane has had to cut overnight shelter capacities by half because the current spaces were designed to pack in as many people as possible, Breean Beggs, Spokane City Council President, told McClatchy News. Because of that, the city is actively seeking new spaces to use as shelters as they anticipate more people to come from the streets, Beggs said.

Currently, 800 people experiencing homelessness in Spokane reside in the city’s shelters, but Beggs expects around 500 more people to move in. The city is working to set up isolation areas as well for people who are symptomatic or infected with COVID-19, Beggs said.

Both cities also are taking measures to treat vulnerable populations showing symptoms and slow the spread of coronavirus by providing sanitation and hygiene facilities. Seattle added portable toilets, hand-washing stations and hygiene trailers at four locations across the city, according to Seattle Human Services.

The City of Spokane is coordinating regular meetings with partnered health care providers to train shelter volunteers in sanitation practices and isolation protocols, Beggs said. Seattle’s Navigation Team is working to connect individuals at risk for COVID-19 with expanded shelter resources, testing and medical treatment and hygiene services, Seattle Human Services said.

Spokane established a regional assessment center where homeless individuals experiencing symptoms can be assessed by the city’s partnered health care providers, Beggs said. As of Wednesday, assessments only took place virtually and by phone for social-distancing purposes, although a physical location will soon be available, according to Beggs.

Beggs told McClatchy that no one working or staying in the city’s shelters has tested positive for coronavirus. But testing is limited, so Beggs anticipates there are workers and guests at the shelters who potentially have COVID-19.