A new initiative to move people suffering homelessness during the pandemic into hotel rooms has helped slow the spread of COVID-19. | Unsplash
A new initiative to move people suffering homelessness during the pandemic into hotel rooms has helped slow the spread of COVID-19. | Unsplash
A new initiative to move people suffering homelessness during the pandemic into hotel rooms has helped slow the spread of COVID-19.
"In April, the county announced it would transition nearly 400 people from shelters to three hotels located in Bellevue, Renton and Seatac. Since then, the rooms have provided temporary shelter for more than 800 people," Patch reported. "A study conducted by the University of Washington and the county's Department of Community and Human Services found improved physical and mental health among those housed in hotels, bolstered by having a secure place to call home and reliable access to food."
Benefits from the program include: increased feelings of stability; improved health; reduced conflict; more time to plan the future and higher rates of exits to permanent housing.
"Moving people from large shelters to individual hotel rooms not only succeeded in slowing the spread of COVID-19, but also provided security, privacy and dignity to hundreds of people in our region experiencing homelessness," Dow Constantine, King County executive, told Patch. "This study conclusively demonstrates the positive impacts of providing our most vulnerable neighbors a place to call their own and 24/7 support, and it underscores the urgency in expanding these efforts in the coming months."
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