Baltimore Mayor’s Office to Shelter Aging Homeless Population in Motels During Pandemic
The Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services announced Monday that homeless people over the age of 62 will begin to be transported to and housed in city motels as a means of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
“This effort allows our neighbors who are experiencing homelessness to isolate safely, while allowing our team to help monitor their health,” Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young (D) said in a statement.
According to a news release, 150 people living in three of the city’s emergency shelters are expected to be relocated this week. Those under 62 who remain sheltered at the Monument Street Shelter are to be moved to a larger space for social distancing purposes.
“We are relocating homeless individuals that are over 62 and residing in City shelters to motel rooms in order to help protect them from COVID-19,” said Office of Homeless Services Director Jerrianne Anthony in a statement. “We continue to work with our non-profit partners to provide safe lodging and support for all of our homeless clients.”
Anthony’s office has partnered with the Baltimore City Health Department and Healthcare for the Homeless to develop a virus screening procedure for the city’s vulnerable populations.
Baltimore joins a growing number of cities that have taken this step to protect their homeless populations, including Santa Fe, N.M., and New Haven, Conn.
The city said it has already taken steps to slow the virus’ reach to its homeless population, deciding to shelter those who have been tested for COVID-19 in motels to isolate them late last month.
Since March 20, over 50 of those individuals have been sequestered in motels.
Hannah Gaskill
Reporter
Hannah Gaskill was a reporter for Maryland Matters. She left the publication in May 2022. Gaskill received her master’s of journalism degree in December 2019 from the University of Maryland. She previously worked on the print layout design team at The Diamondback, reported on criminal justice in Maryland for Capital News Service and served as a production assistant for The Confluence — the daily news magazine on 90.5 WESA, Pittsburgh’s NPR member station. Gaskill has had bylines in The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post and The Chicago Tribune, among other publications. Before pursuing journalism, she received her bachelor’s of fine art degree from Carnegie Mellon University in 2016. She grew up in Ocean City.
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