MANCHESTER, NH —Even in the best of times the homeless shelter at 199 Manchester St. is a difficult place to live — even if one is only there temporarily. Ambulances have been known to come and go on a regular basis at all hours of the day and night. Firefighters are no strangers there, often responding to drug overdoses. What’s more, people getting thrown out of the shelter has been, prior to the onset of the coronavirus, a regular occurrence.
Capped this past October at 138 participants at one time, New Horizons, owned and operated by Families in Transition, has faced a number of unprecedented challenges which often leaves them faced with difficult choices. Closing down entirely would mean all the homeless people in the shelter would be turned out into the streets, there to sleep wherever they could find respite. This in turn could lead more people getting exposed to the virus — something neither the homeless participants at New Horizons nor the staff want to see.
In other cities, such as Houston, Texas, homeless people who test positive are being discharged from the hospital directly onto the street. While this practice was common for homeless people seeking medical services prior to the virus, New Horizons does not simply want to ask a person to leave if they begin presenting with symptoms.
According to a regular newsletter, some of the responses Families in Transition taken have been:
- Created a COVID-19 Taskforce which is meeting regularly and continually monitoring the latest news and updates on the pandemic.
- Developed a dynamic Response Plan, which includes recommendations and best practices from various local and federal sources, which we are continually updating as new information becomes available.
- Staying in regular communication with health officials and city and state leaders regarding response procedures should a case be detected among a participant.
- Educating participants and staff on preventive measures they can take to maintain a healthy environment for all.
- Implemented best practices to prevent the spread of the virus, including increasing cleaning protocols and access to cleaning supplies across the agency.
- Developed a staffing plan which will ensure that we are still able to provide our essential services.
- Encouraged staff who can work from home to do so, restricting travel and attendance of gatherings, and moving in-person meetings to virtual settings where feasible.
- Paused our agency-wide volunteer programs for the next 3 weeks.
- Temporarily closed our Thrift store and suspended clothing and home goods donations.
- Temporarily closed the food pantry for Monday, March 16 & Tuesday, March 17 in order to allow time for staff to plan for safe and effective food distribution taking into account all of the guidance to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
- The day resource program remains open, though the shelter has staggered hours of entry so as to prevent people from coming in all at once. Members of the community who receive mail at New Horizons are still welcome to come and retrieve it; however, they cannot enter the shelter itself. They must wait outside in the hallway. Visitors are no longer permitted in the building.
The food pantry is open by appointment only. Deliveries for people staying at home are not possible at the moment. The soup kitchen, which was previously open from 4:20 to 5:20 p.m., is now closed to the public. Volunteers are no longer accepted. Staff continues to come in at the beginning of their shift and leave at the end as before. Case management by phone or web chat is not yet available.
While the pandemic endures, participants at the shelter who choose to stay must always be around other people. This means putting oneself in a constantly loud environment where there is little else to do except wait for things to improve. Earplugs and/or noise canceling headphones are not provided. No plans have been discussed to give participants a respite from the noise, other than the volunteer cleaning program already in place. No information has yet been provided as how to FIT’s outreach team is going to handle interacting with infected people sleeping on the street.
“Things are constantly changing moment to moment, and we are doing our best to respond in real time,” Kyle Chumas, FIT’s new Director of Communications said. “Our main goal right now is finding additional locations to reduce numbers at the shelter, separate people with underlying health conditions who are most vulnerable, and find isolation/quarantine locations should a participant test positive in the future as well as staffing to support additional locations.”
While New Horizons does not have any specific donations at present, monetary donations are recommended for the time being.
The public library at 405 Pine St. is still open. Individuals can request a temporary library card online. Those who do not have a library card can request one and receive it digitally within 24 hours. The library’s wifi is still on, and can be accessed outside on the sidewalk or in Victory Park.
The Healthcare for the Homeless clinic is still open. Should a participant contract the coronavirus, staff at New Horizons will provide them a mask and direct them to see someone at the clinic. Hand sanitizer is being provided; participants and staff alike are cleaning and washing their hands much more often.
One new policy change has been the introduction of a heel-to-toe sleeping arrangement in the dorms as an attempt to limit individual exposure to germs. Participants in the shelter can still go outside, have a smoke, or walk around and come back if they feel so inclined. Further measures may be implemented at a later date.
For now, New Horizons is doing the best they can to provide their services while keeping everyone as safe as possible.
