When residents are ordered to shelter in place, what happens to those without shelter? It’s one of many concerns being addressed by the Lancaster County Homeless Coalition (Lanc Co MyHome), part of Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health.
Lanc Co MyHome brings together more than 200 partners — a cross-section of industries from health care to housing, government offices, and human services organizations — around a common agenda of helping homeless people in Lancaster County. The coronavirus pandemic, which affects everyone, adds urgency to challenges already faced by our homeless population. “When the library and other businesses close, suddenly there is nowhere for folks to go to get out of the rain, use a bathroom, or wash their hands,” explained Jennifer L. Koppel, MHA, director of the Office for the Lancaster County Homeless Coalition.
Within the first days of closures, Koppel reached out to community partners to keep open the county’s seasonal shelters, which ordinarily close April 3. They set up portable bathrooms and hand-washing stations throughout downtown Lancaster and distributed small bottles of hand sanitizer and safety information. When churches closed, Koppel found new partners to serve over 200 free meals a day, pivoting to a safer grab-and-go option.
With the county’s help, Lanc Co MyHome also arranged for a hotel to house homeless people awaiting COVID-19 test results. Meals are provided and rooms are professionally disinfected upon discharge to a shelter or hospital, depending on the results. Most recently, the coalition opened a day shelter.
“The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and unemployment are likely to put more people at risk for homelessness. This isn’t going to be short-lived,” said Koppel.