A special “isolation shelter” is in the works for homeless men and women in Abbotsford who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
That facility is expected to open soon and, in the meantime, one shelter operator says local organizations will find a way to help and house any homeless person who is told to self-isolate but has nowhere to go.
This weekend, a homeless man contacted The News to report that he had a cough, headache and sore throat, but that when he attempted to get help at 8-1-1 and another number, he found himself passed back and forth between agencies. The man, who didn’t want his name used, was told to self-isolate, but no one could suggest how he should do so, because he spends his nights at a homeless shelter for older people.
The man was concerned that he would be forced onto the street if he revealed his symptoms.
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Jesse Wegenast, a pastor with 5 and 2 Ministries and the operator of a shelter in Abbotsford, said homeless men and women have the same duty to self-isolate if they show symptoms as the rest of society. But he said shelter operators would, and will, find a way to ensure such people are able to sleep inside while doing so.
“This person should be disclosing in exactly the same way everyone is disclosing. And provisions would be made, something would happen.
“I can understand how fear exists and, until we’re ready to go, we don’t have a clear answer about what happens to an individual who is symptomatic. But we would see to it that that person is taken care of, one way or another.”
Wegenast said BC Housing has made it clear to shelter operators that they will be able to receive money to deal with additional costs associated with the COVID-19 response.
“I don’t think that any shelter would be hesitant to figure something out for an individual.
“If they are symptomatic, just like everyone else, they should be isolating, or isolated. If he or she is not disclosing their symptoms that’s a serious problem in the same way it’s a serious problem if any one of us is showing up at a family member’s house or at work.”
Shelters are spacing beds further apart and encouraging more hand-washing to decrease the likelihood of the spread of COVID-19, should one person have it.
In an email, a spokesperson for the City of Abbotsford said, “The Abbotsford Homelessness Prevention and Response System, which includes the City, BC Housing, Fraser Health, and other community partners, are finalizing a COVID-19 response strategy for vulnerable individuals which will include the activation of an isolation site for individuals to rest, recover, or transition into further health and housing supports.”
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