Click here if you are having trouble viewing the slideshow on a mobile device.
A Concord motel is turning into a temporary homeless shelter for people particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 — the latest effort by local governments scrambling to protect their unhoused residents from the potentially deadly virus.
Premier Inns, on Concord Avenue off Highway 242, will house 65 people who may be susceptible to the virus because of their age or underlying health concerns, according to the nonprofit SHELTER, Inc., which will operate the program in partnership with Contra Costa County Health, Housing and Homeless Services. The residents will come from other high-density shelters, as officials work to thin those populations to allow space for social distancing.
“COVID-19 could be fatal to all of these people,” said Julie Clemens, director of development for SHELTER, Inc. “So this provides them the isolation they need to make sure they’re not exposed to the virus. And I hope (it) is life-saving.”
The shelter will operate for at least three months. As of Thursday, 18 or 19 clients had moved in so far, Clemens said, and she expected to be full by Monday or Tuesday.
Sunrise Bistro and Catering in Walnut Creek will provide residents with three meals a day, and SHELTER, Inc. will provide case management services and other assistance. Residents are asked to stay in their rooms and shelter-in-place.
Officials around the Bay Area are rushing to turn vacant hotel rooms into isolation spaces where homeless people with COVID-19 can quarantine, or where healthy but vulnerable residents with nowhere else to go can shelter-in-place and hopefully avoid the virus. Gov. Gavin Newsom last week kick-started a state-wide program, which he dubbed “Project Roomkey,” with a goal of securing 15,000 rooms. FEMA will reimburse local jurisdictions for 75% of the costs for maintaining the rooms as long as they are used to house homeless residents who have COVID-19, have been exposed to the virus or are medically vulnerable.
Officials in Santa Clara, San Francisco and Alameda counties have started moving in residents to hotel rooms, but the process has ramped up slowly, frustrating some activists. Contra Costa County has contracted with two other motels, in addition to Premier Inns, Clemens said.
Contra Costa County had 2,295 homeless residents as of its January 2019 point-in-time count.
As of Thursday, Contra Costa County had reported 484 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and eight deaths. The county had tested 6,307 people, and was treating 31 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.
In addition to providing shelter for homeless residents, SHELTER, Inc. also has stepped up its efforts to keep Contra Costa County residents from ending up on the street in the first place. The nonprofit is pouring more money and more staff into its prevention program, which provides emergency grants for people struggling to pay rent and other bills.
To donate or get help:
To donate to SHELTER, Inc., visit shelterinc.org
If you need help, call 211.
