Task force seeks help for area’s homeless

COVID-19 outbreak adds to difficulties for vulnerable population

To assist Blair County's homeless population, a new task force is seeking help from landlords, hotels and church groups, according to Sergio Carmona, executive director of Blair County Community Action Program and a member of the task force.

The goal is placement in non-congregate housing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to a news release from the Community Action Program. CAP has 132 households in a system it uses to track and help those who have called in requesting assistance.

"All of those individuals are either literally living on the street somewhere or staying in a shelter in Blair County. Only a small portion of this population, less than 20, are staying at the shelter," Carmona said. "We have already started placing some of these households into hotels that are willing to work with us and enter into a 30-day agreement.

We've reached out to the local landlords' association, which sent out a call to its members for help. We've received calls from some landlords who are willing to help and will place families with them when the unit is appropriate for the family."

Representatives on the task force include officials from Blair County Department of Emergency Services, Blair County Community Action Program, Family Services Inc. and Durbin Companies LP. The task force is chaired by Jim Hudack, director of Blair County Department of Social Services.

"We have received approval to begin placing individuals under the waivers made available by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and funding made available by Blair County commissioners through the Blair County Department of Social Services," Carmona said in the statement. "As of now, we plan to place noninfected households in participating hotels within the area as soon as possible. We are also reaching out to local landlords for placement in vacant units."

Landlords with available rental units, hotels with vacancies and organizations that can assist with meals are asked to call 946-3651 or contact Carmona by email at sergio.carmona@blaircap.org for more information.

Living situations can become even more precarious during the pandemic when people await COVID-19 test results and must isolate, like one individual who asked for help from CAP.

"This individual was living with an elderly relative prior to being tested and was advised not to return to the home until the test results return. This individual did not have the resources to stay in a hotel, so they were living in their car before … reaching out to us," Carmona said. "Outside of the households already in the system on March 16, we anticipate seeing a surge in requests for our services in the next few weeks from individuals falling into this type of scenario."

Information provided by the National Alliance to End Homelessness to the homeless assistance networks throughout the state and country shows that COVID-19 is creating a severe and emergent health crisis for the homeless populations across the country.

Hospitalization and fatality models show that homeless individuals infected with COVID-19 would be twice as likely to be hospitalized, two to four times as likely to require critical care and two to three times as likely to die than the general population.

The task force, in coordination with the Department of Emergency Services, state Department of Community and Economic Development, and the state Eastern Continuum of Care in accordance with state Department of Human Services, has implemented a screening protocol and established quarantine measures for individuals who test positive but are not exhibiting symptoms, are waiting for test results or have been instructed by a medical professional to self-quarantine or self-isolate.

The task force is working to identify high-risk individuals to place the households in one of the participating hotels immediately.

"We do have a limited amount of resources to pay for hotels and apartments or homes. Our agency is paying for stays at any of these places," Carmona said. "When we place anyone who is either in one of the high-risk categories as defined by the CDC and/or state DHS, which can be found in the FEMA guidance, we will request reimbursement from the appropriate agency."

Mirror Staff Writer Patt Keith is at 949-7030.