Homeless on streets or crowded in shelters remain an impending ‘public health disaster’
The city still hasn’t come up with a place where homeless people can isolate themselves if they fall ill with Covid-19, and those who are well don’t have spaces to congregate while staying a safe distance apart. That was the case a week ago and that was the message from Cambridge officials at Monday’s meeting of the City Council, though officials said they were working hard to solve the problem.
Chief Public Health Officer Claude Jacob said officials are talking to Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which have sent students home and moved to online teaching, about using empty space for health care workers and homeless people who need to be isolated. One obstacle is that some students are still living in residence halls, vice mayor Alanna Mallon said.
The city did announce on Sunday that it is contracting with restaurants, many of which are struggling or closed because they can provide only takeout food, to send bagged or boxed meals to homeless shelters that need them.
In a measure approved unanimously Monday, councillors suggested asking the Assessing Department and Inspectional Services Department for a list of vacant properties, considering there are two empty city buildings at 884 Main St. and 105 Windsor St., and seeking space from hotels.
The continued inaction is “a public health disaster waiting to happen,” said Jim Stewart, director of the 14-bed shelter at First Church in Cambridge at 11 Garden St. Health experts say most homeless people living in shelters or on the street have underlying health problems that make them especially vulnerable to the coronavirus. Stewart warned City Manager Louis A. DePasquale about the issue in an email more than a week ago. His own shelter can avoid crowding, and the church has given the shelter additional space during the emergency, he said. The church is seeking donations of cleaning supplies in a message on its website.
In contrast, the city’s two major shelters – the overnight site on Albany Street and a “warming center” in the basement of the Senior Center that operates at night – are “unbelievably crowded,” Stewart said. A spokesman for the operator of both sites, Bay Cove Human Services, has not responded to questions.
The Harvard Square Homeless Shelter in the basement of University Lutheran Church closed Sunday; it usually closes for the season April 15. The site, operated by Harvard University students and volunteers during the winter and early spring, serves 24 people for up to two weeks.
A Covid-19 task force organized by Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui was to hold its first meeting Tuesday. Councillor Marc McGovern said “there is a group” looking into finding space for the homeless, but it was unclear whether he meant the task force. “All of these things are already in the discussion mill and we’ll hopefully have a resolution to this very soon,” McGovern said.
Officials have not disclosed the names of experts who are on the panel. When councillor Quinton Zondervan asked why, Jacob said answered only indirectly, saying he would send the names onward through the city manager and mayor. He did not say explicitly that it would be made public.
On Thursday Gov. Charlie Baker said the state will use the former Newton Pavilion near Boston Medical Center to treat homeless people in Boston who become infected, including giving them a place to self-quarantine and providing space for them to stay after treatment. The state bought the building from BMC in 2018 with plans to move its Shattuck Hospital there in 2021.
Donald Trump is the epitome of electing people totally unqualified to hold any elected office never mind president. He has proven he is totally inept and this will sadly cost lives.
Just because we’re Democrats, liberals or progressives doesn’t mean we aren’t guilty of doing the same. We have elected and appointed people to positions or into offices they are unqualified for mostly because they’re popular. We don’t treat elections as job interviews to hold positions that could cost lives. We have popularity contests. I have said this for years. I believe this crisis is proven me sadly correct. I didn’t want to be.
Much of last night’s Council meeting was a bunch of elected officials congratulating each other. Up to when I was forced to stop watching due to frustration. During the meeting, i only heard Councilor Zondervan appropriately questioning those in charge. Most asked questions easily answered if they had taken the time to phone the departments this council is in charge of overseeing.
There are too many examples to state then i have time to write and I’m tired of being a near sole voice stating what many believe but too intimidated to do so publicly.
My hope writing this. Our elected officials start leading as Governor Cuomo of NY has. Do what is.right regardless of criticism. I wrote letters to the editor of this very news source pleading for the city to shut down all non essential businesses and implement stay home orders only to be criticized and to hear excuses and political spin.
One Councilor felt they only needed to sign the letter asking Gov. Baker to do what I asked above.
Peace Be Unto You,
In the local homelessness sector and mosaic it is well known how adament and callus, our municipal policy makers have been to them, throughout past decades. I know from first hand personal and public, experience how unreceptive city hall can be when it came to doing meaningful thihgs on behalf of our local homeless population. I tried on many occasions to get the municipal administration to do meaningful things that would benefit the homeless (things such as Homeless Trust Fund, Housing and other human services at excess city properties like the Foundry Building,etc., Homeless Laundry Truck, and other benefits for the homeless). Sadly to say that over the past decade every effort I made to address homelessness to city officials,etc., had been trashed. The city’s current so-called perplexity concerning what to do with local homeless Covid-19 victims is another example of their do nothing mentality, a survivor from previous local municipal administrations.
They should all go except a small minority that truly care about what happens to the poor. I’m on official record at city hall stating that this blind arrogant mentallity is a recipe for disaster. Homelessness has always been a public health phenomenon and issue. God doesn’t like ugliness, what our municipal leadship are helping to purpatrate against the continues to perpetrate against the homeless mosaic and sector is very ugly.
Yours In Peace
Hasson Rashid
Concern Citizen
Cambridge,MA
Walking from the Senior Center in Central to Harvard yesterday, the main group I saw out were folks not out there in the cold by choice. The part about already having any number of health concerns is true. And folks congregate, especially in rough circumstances. Harvard? Anybody there?
On a better note the city program supporting local restaurants by paying for meals to be distributed to hungry folks for free seems to be working. We gave out almost 100 today at Christ Church.