Homelessness in the age of Covid-19

I thought this clip by Vice  News was extremely cool. It talks about an organization known as the Guardian Angels and details their efforts being made to help protect and aid the homeless of New York City during this pandemic. Those who are not familiar, The Guardian Angels are an organization founded in the late ’70s. They are a volunteer-based organization that actually works towards crime prevention. However, a great deal of the work they do is actually focused on helping the homeless and the needy. This is a great example of some of the work that people are doing to help this at-risk population.

If you are wanting to get involved but aren’t exactly sure where to start, Feeding America is a great first step! Feeding America is the United States largest domestic hunger-relief organization. Their mission is to feed Americas hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger.

Feeding America is made up of a network of over 200 food banks throughout the country and is constantly trying to do good by putting food on people plates. If you are looking for a great way to donate money towards something that will directly help someone and put food in their stomach, donate to Feeding America. Aside from financial donations, they offer a ton of great alternative forms of getting involved and making a difference.

Donate Now

 

https://www.feedingamerica.org/ways-to-give

 

I recently was reading an article on homeless students during this time of COVID and it brought a lot of important factors to my attention. I think this is an issue that deserves a lot more attention and one that I don’t see being talked about too much.

One major aspect of the homeless community that is being affected in many ways by the coronavirus is actually students that are experiencing homelessness. As of the 2015-2016 school year, roughly 1.36 million students experienced homelessness throughout that given year. This is a large population that can be greatly affected by the difficulties that COVID poses. Now that schools are closed due to the pandemic, it has created an entirely separate issue of students not being able to get the resources that they rely on from their schools and programs. Some of these things include meals and sources for food. Millions of students receive free or reduced-price breakfast and lunches from their schools, two meals that now they don’t get due to school closures. Another big issue is that students who are experiencing homelessness likely don’t have access to the internet or wifi connection. This makes it even harder for them to try to attend remote classes and continue their education during this time. Another big issue is access to healthcare. A ton of homeless students actually rely on their school nurses and health centers for access to healthcare. Now a service that they don’t have access to if they need it. This is a big issue because in the era of the novel coronavirus, it is crucial to have access to such resources.  Of course, there are many other ways that students are being affected by COVID as I only detailed a few.

If you want to learn more about the other ways that students experiencing homelessness are being affected by the virus read the full article for yourself. Follow the link below!

 

https://www.icphusa.org/blog/10-things-to-know-about-homeless-students-amid-the-covid-19-crisis/

 

Recently, a report was published that details the impacts and possible repercussions on individuals experiencing homelessness during this coronavirus pandemic. The report was a published by researches from various universities such as UCLA, the University of Pennslyvania, and Boston Univesity. They highlight the possible outcomes of infection within this population throughout the US as well as getting more in-depth on possible outcomes in Los Angelas specifically. It also details some plans on how the city is trying to prevent this from happening within their community. You can read the full article in the link below.

 

https://dailybruin.com/2020/04/08/report-looks-into-covid-19s-impacts-on-people-experiencing-homelessness-in-us/

 

This is an article by Newsweek that goes into various ways that anybody can help the homeless during the coronavirus pandemic. They talk about everything from preventative measures to more direct ways of action such as donations. They also offer some eye-opening statistics regarding homelessness that go to show how important your help really is. This is a great place to start if you are interested in learning how you can help.

 

https://www.newsweek.com/how-you-can-help-homeless-coronavirus-pandemic-charity-donate-1492709

 

I recently had come across another intriguing article that focuses on San Francisco. While it does start off talking about more instances of lawlessness in general, it quickly gets into how SF is loosening its laws and restrictions regarding homeless encampments. Homeless camps have been a focus for the past four years for SF law enforcement and they have previously been trying to shut them down.

Now we are seeing a complete shift from this given the issue of coronavirus. Rather than disbanding these encampments, city officials are actually doing the opposite by taking on a “tents for all” policy as well as complete decriminalization of homeless encampments. This is part of the belief that these encampments will actually help contain the virus as it does give these individuals a space of their own. This policy has gone as far as to have officials distributing hundreds of tents throughout San Francisco.

If you are interested in the full article, the link is below.

 

https://www.city-journal.org/san-francisco-experiment-in-lawlessness

 

I stumbled across this article that was published by Invisible People. Invisible people is a nonprofit organization for homelessness. The article touches on preparing and delivering food to the homeless, donating hygiene products and cleaning supplies, and of course donating money and resources.

The link below goes more in-depth into each of the possible ways as well as details a few others.

https://invisiblepeople.tv/how-to-safely-help-homeless-people-during-coronavirus-pandemic/

 

I am sure there are people out there who want to help the homeless population but arent exactly sure how to during the age of COVID 19. I for one had no idea where to start so I wanted to share some ideas about how people can get involved.

One of the best ways that anyone can help out is by donating to a fundraiser/charity, or a local shelter or food bank. I know that right now it is a tricky time to help in terms of going and physically lending a hand, so it is always great to make financial contributions to these various outlets. Of course if you feel up to helping in person than by all means go and volunteer, just make sure you are practicing safe social distancing protocols. Another great way to donate if you don’t want to donate time or money, would be to donate supplies. Shelters and individuals, in general, are constantly in need of items such as hand sanitizer and ppe. If you happen to have some extra resources lying around, maybe consider donating them to your local shelter.

Another great way that you can get involved right now is by getting in touch with elected officials. you would be surprised how far an email, letter, or phone call would go. Elected officials are always there to hear your ideas and advocating for the homeless population at this time is a huge help.

Aside from these various ways, another great way to get involved is by using the power of your social media to spread awareness on the issue. Nothing stands out more than a powerful news article or statistics. By posting on your social media and spreading awareness, you could be helping other individuals get involved as well and ready to act. Of course, these are only a few ideas of how people can get involved right now. There are many other ways as well but the important thing is that you do something to take action and help. I hope some of these ideas can help!