MIAMI – Maybe you can’t imagine living on the streets, panhandling for income.
COVID-19 made it real for this woman who took her plight Thursday to Miami’s virtual commission meeting.
“I’ve been furloughed since March 23,” the woman said. “My stimulus hasn’t come in. My taxes, my CARES Act, my unemployment — nothing has come in. It’s really a scary situation.”
The coronavirus pandemic has layered another complication for those who try to help people experiencing homelessness.
The Miami-Dade Homeless Trust has been out trying to test for the virus. Of the 535 people they’ve been able to test, 18 were positive for COVID-19. The results are pending for 158 more.
Almost half of the people refuse the test.
“Some of the conditions that many of them have, they jerk back and won’t let swab go two inches up their nose,” Ron Book of the Homeless Trust says.
The Homeless Trust has its army in the streets, distributing masks, gloves and sanitizer — plus advice on social distancing and directions to shelters. Some of the homeless are now secured in hotel properties.
“There are resources out there,” said Judge Steve Leifman of the Mental Health Project. “Getting them to accept them is more of a problem than the resources themselves.”
The Homeless Trust said Thursday that it estimates 700-800 people are living on the streets just in the city of Miami.
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