By BRADLEY BERMONT | bbermont@scng.com | Pasadena Star-News
Pasadena will soon step up its efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus among the homeless after receiving $105,625 in emergency state funding from Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The money will bolster ongoing efforts from the city to move “individuals who are highly vulnerable off the streets, out of the shelters — wherever they happen to be — and into housing where they can be isolated,” Pasadena’s Director of Housing Bill Huang told the City Council on Monday.
That means moving anyone who’s contracted the virus or been exposed to it into hotels, motels and other housing options. The city has also prioritized the most vulnerable homeless individuals, such as those are 65 years and older or have underlying health conditions, and sought to put them in similar housing.
Thus far, the city has moved 75 people off the streets and out of shelters, Huang said.
“We’re paying their hotel stay everyday,” Huang said in an interview Tuesday. This includes the cost of food, so it costs’s about $100 to $140 per person, per night.
While it’s unclear how much this program will cost in the end — that depends on how long the crisis lasts and how many people officials ultimately house — right now, the city is planning for it to run two to three months. The new state funding covers “only a small part” of the overall price tag, Huang said.
While the most recent homeless count numbers won’t be available for another couple of months, Pasadena counted 542 individuals living on the streets in 2019.
“We continue to move a handful in everyday,” Huang told the council. “We have space for probably a few dozen more.”
It’s a collaboration among Pasadena’s Housing Department, Public Health Department and the nearby Union Station Homeless Services, alongside several other partners, Huang said, but it’s not the only effort the city has taken to curb the virus’ spread among the homeless population.
To those still on the streets, the city has started distributing hygiene kits with large alcohol wipes to help them keep their hands clean. They’ve also setup hand-washing stations at strategic locations, Huang said in an interview.
Pasadena has also partnered with the Shower of Hope, a nonprofit organization, to setup a mobile shower site at the Hill Avenue Branch Library. It’s open every Wednesday and Sunday and typically services about 70 people per week, Huang said.
The city has also committed to help homeless facilities with extra cleaning and “even round-the-clock janitorial service,” Huang said.The city is also filling in the gaps where needed.
For instance, when one permanent supportive housing site had only a two-day supply of toilet paper left, unable to secure anything after weeks of trying, Huang’s department managed to track down a stockpile at the Pasadena Convention Center and got it to the facility.
“It’s toilet paper, but it’s a very, very important thing we’ve been able to facilitate,” he said.
Currently, Pasadena is home to three permanent supportive housing sites with “two more in the pipeline,” Huang said.
“Those aren’t happening because of COVID-19. That’s our normal course of business. We’ve been focused on providing permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless.”
While there’s still work to be done, he believes the results speak for themselves. In 2011, the city had about 1,200 individuals living on the streets. That number had been more than halved by 2019.