Leaders in Manchester announced Thursday they won’t be breaking up the city’s homeless camp sites during the COVID-19 pandemic, in accordance with CDC guidelines.
Since COVID-19 hit New Hampshire, the state’s largest homeless shelter, New Horizons in Manchester, has seen about 60 residents leave.
The shelter’s chief strategy officer, Cathy Kuhn, says people tend to leave the shelter as the weather gets warmer, but their current numbers are lower than they’ve seen in a long time.
“We do see our numbers fluctuate during this time of year,” she says. “But I will say that of course, because of COVID, I’m sure they’re lower because of that as well.”
While some may find alternative places to stay, such as in a hotel or with friends and family, others have opted to stay outside in homeless camps around the city. Manchester Fire Chief Dan Goonan says he's seen four large camps pop up in Manchester over the past few weeks.
On Thursday, city officials announced they’ll be providing those camps with food, restroom facilities, hand-washing stations, and 24-hour police security.
But Goonan says it’s all only temporary.
“The idea is not to let people stay out there an extended period of time. There’s an end date to this,” he says. “When the CDC has other guidelines that says people should be back, they’re going back.”
New Horizons is also establishing two additional sites to help the people they serve comply with CDC guidelines on social distancing and self-quarantine.
One will be an additional shelter space at the former St. Casimir School, and the other will be a quarantine site at Angie's place, a former women's shelter.
The sites, both located near the shelter on Union Street, were funded through private donations and state money--not from the $3 million for homeless services announced Wednesday by Gov. Chris Sununu.
“The 3 million in funds is really to support our current operations and our current staff,” says Kuhn. “So there’s additional funding coming from the state to hire new staff, to then stand up these new programs like the decompression site at St. Casimir and the quarantine site at Angie’s shelter.”
Kuhn says the state plans to use the $3 million to cover operational costs, provide hazard pay for shelter employees, and fortify the state’s rapid rehousing and prevention programs.
So far, fewer than five individuals in the state’s homeless population have tested positive for COVID-19, according to state health officials.
