Addressing Disaster Vulnerability among Homeless Populations during COVID-19 (2021) / Chapter Skim
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Introduction
Introduction
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Given the shifting landscape of homelessness and housing precarity in the context of COVID-19, as well as recent funding allocations outlined in the American Rescue Plan, decision makers 3 need strategies for reducing disaster vulnerability among people without secure housing so as to mitigate the potential for such events to amplify housing precarity. Formulating such strategies requires capturing the unique needs and capacities of these individuals and communities, rather than simply categorizing them generically as "vulnerable populations." This document is intended to help decision makers and organizations navigate the enduring and ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on homeless populations vulnerable to disaster threats.
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Local governments and providers of homeless services across the nation have introduced alternative shelter arrangements that repurpose existing buildings, including hotels and motels, 6 as shelters, and have had to accommodate pressing needs for rapidly restructuring traditional homeless shelter settings to accommodate physical distancing in accordance with public health guidance related to the COVID-19 pandemic. While these innovations have helped reduce density in shelters, they have presented new challenges for all stakeholders, including emergency planners, 7 disaster managers, and community- and faith-based organizations.
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; emergency planners; community- and faith-based organizations; and other service providers to modify shelters for people experiencing homelessness during the pandemic. It would be helpful for such organizations to document these processes as they are able, including the challenges encountered and solutions developed, in after-action reports and other resources to inform future emergency planning and long-term approaches for addressing homelessness.
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3. Support Disaster Preparedness within Homeless-Serving Organizations That Addresses Needs Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and Facilitate Integration of Homelessness Support into Community Emergency Planning: Interagency and multisector coordination across emergency planners, HSOs or the coalitions they represent, and other health and human service providers is necessary to address the emergency communication, sheltering, and other disaster assistance needs of people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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13 The logistical partnerships and insights about addressing liability issues developed through these approaches can be informative to emergency managers outside of the pandemic context. 14 Some unaccompanied people experiencing homelessness may seek isolated campsites away from other homeless people and out of sight of the general public to protect their property and personal safety (Settembrino, 2017)
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Emergency cell phone notifications can complement such measures; however, given the limitations faced by many homeless people with regard to access to power and technology, particularly when libraries and other access points are closed, these services cannot be relied upon as the sole mechanism for outreach. Support Disaster Preparedness within Homeless-Serving Organizations that Addresses Needs Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and Facilitate Integration of Homelessness Support into Community Emergency Planning Interagency and multisector partnerships are necessary both to assist HSOs in emergency planning during the COVID-19 pandemic and to prepare the broad array of external stakeholders (e.g., municipalities, social service providers and government agencies, public health authorities, disaster relief organizations, CoCs, Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster [VOADs]
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Additionally, disaster service providers (e.g., groups involved in VOADs, disaster shelter operators, and other relief organizations) need to develop clear antidiscrimination policies that extend their planning and services to people experiencing homelessness.
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While shelter capacity reductions resulting from COVID-19 have been the most visible issue in the organizational landscape of homeless services, disruptions among other types of organizations that regularly provide services to people experiencing homelessness have had secondary effects on the health, safety, and general well-being of people they serve in ways that can intensify disaster vulnerability. Programs that provide a social safety net for unsheltered people and address the root causes of homelessness have experienced disruptions in volunteer and staff availability, resources, and supplies while simultaneously having to modify their operations (Finchum-Mason et al., 2020; Holliday et al., 2020; Lane Pixley et al., 2021; Moses et al., 2020)
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Mitigating Health Impacts The following subsections address particular health challenges that people experiencing homelessness may face when disasters and extreme conditions intersect with the COVID-19 pandemic, and outline strategies for limiting the negative impacts. Poor health is both a contributor to and consequence of homelessness, and people experiencing homelessness struggle with physical health conditions, mental illness, and substance use disorders.
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Enhance Disaster Behavioral Health Capacity It is important for emergency planners to consider how behavioral health needs among people experiencing homelessness may have been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic and related service disruptions and to plan for ways to deliver services during a disaster, which can exacerbate symptoms of mental illness. Depending on the disaster event, some people may be in shock or feel traumatized (e.g., experiencing acute stress disorder 24 or exacerbation of existing posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD]
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Support Service Providers' Emotional Well-Being COVID-19 represents a crisis within a crisis for people experiencing homelessness and the systems that support them. Staff at HSOs have been responding to multiple emergencies for more than a year, and are at significant risk of burnout and associated health issues.
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Emergency shelters with filtered air are an ideal means of helping unsheltered people seeking assistance in avoiding hazardous air conditions; in their absence, however, such supplies as N-95 masks and information about protective measures need to be distributed to reduce the health impacts of heightened and prolonged exposure. 28 Increase Disaster Preparedness and Response Support to Violence Prevention and Domestic Violence Programs for Diverse Populations Certain groups within the homeless population, including those listed in Box 4, face a disproportionate risk of violence and discrimination, particularly in the context of a disaster.
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. Extreme events often destroy the affordable housing stock and drive up the costs of whatever available housing was not affected by the disaster, exacerbating conditions of poverty among people currently experiencing homelessness, and causing more people to become homeless.
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When disaster case managers are not available, support and training can be provided to traditional homeless service case managers. Policies that disqualify people experiencing homelessness need to be eliminated when possible; otherwise, coordination with charities and foundations can be undertaken to develop alternative sources of support.
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identified key measures that emergency planners could take to enable the successful implementation of a post disaster rapid rehousing model, including multisectoral planning and preparation; coordination and communication with federal partners; leveraging of existing data systems, such as the Homeless Management Information System; creation of new local data systems and data sharing protocols as needed; proactive identification of potential rehousing sites; engagement of landlords to prenegotiate terms; and annual procurement of project management and fiscal administration as part of preparedness activities. The country's homelessness crisis has deepened during the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing the number of people at risk and burdening disaster response systems in addition to homelessness services and social services more broadly.
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to disseminate information about disaster assistance to difficult to-reach populations, such as those who were living unsheltered prior to the disaster; 33 ● developing disaster case management training and practices that are responsive to the unique needs of the homeless community, including attending to the specific vulnerabilities of different groups (e.g., cultural considerations, racial and ethnic inequalities, immigration status) , and creating processes for coordination and communication between disaster case managers and homeless services case managers to address clients' needs holistically; ● in the event that separate disaster and homeless services case managers are not available, providing specific training and guidance for homeless service providers so that case managers in these organizations can support the people they serve in the recovery and rehousing process, particularly in light of the evolving landscape of resources available to stabilize socially vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic; ● when possible, eliminating burdensome policies and requirements for disaster assistance or developing alternative resourcing mechanisms that are designed for people experiencing homelessness (e.g., through collaborations with community- and faith-based organizations, charities, foundations, and other organizations that have more flexible requirements)
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While homeless service support systems nationwide have been strained by the COVID-19 pandemic, these social safety nets were fraying well before the pandemic occurred. This rapid expert consultation has highlighted considerations, suggestions, and guidance for how alternative shelter facilities can be provided during a disaster and how leadership and communities can navigate reductions in homeless services and support population-specific needs, but it is important as well to understand the factors that have put so many in these precarious situations.
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