Covid health advocates: $21.9 million needed for 'shelter housing'

The City of Chicago has successfully used “shield housing” to address CO- VID-19 risks in the homeless population, but its proposed $15.7 million investment in these rental units is over $5 million short of what is needed, according to a group of public health experts.

The Chicago Homelessness and Health Response Group for Equity (CHHRGE), a coalition that helped identify and address these COVID-19 risks, urged city officials to designate $21.9 million in federal aid to fund 1,750 units of “shield housing,” rental units for people who are homeless and at risk of coronavirus death.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has proposed an allocation of $15.7 million for 1,250 units.

CHHRGE praised the city’s prior initiative to requisition hotel rooms for homeless people over age 60 (or over 55 with comorbidities) and convert them into temporary housing, and said it was a key reason why COVID deaths among people experiencing homelessness have remained low. However, in a June 11 report, CHHRGE called for more shield housing to flatten the curve as well as a Chief Homelessness Officer to coordinate strategy across multiple city departments.

“Now more than ever, it is apparent that housing is healthcare,” said Dr. David Ansell, senior vice president for community health equity at Rush University Medical Center, and one of the original architects of the coalition. “The city has made fantastic strides in its response to COVID-19 for people experiencing homelessness, but we can’t risk relinquishing the upper hand in the effort to contain the disease by falling just $5 million short of the need. We urge the city to bridge that small funding gap and shore up its armor against a pandemic that threatens everyone as long as anyone is left unprotected.”

While shield housing would be supported by the CARES Act, CHHRGE also said that conventional apartments, accompanied by supportive services, would be cheaper than hotel rooms and effective as a bridge that helps residents regain permanent housing stability, instead of a recurring cycle that breeds more COVID infections. It urged the city to fund housing subsidies to create 2,000 additional units of non-time-limited housing by the end of 2021 to reduce the number of people dependent on overnight shelters.

Other recommendations include:

• Maintenance of the pre-COVID number of shelter beds, with additional space for social distance.

• Defined standards of medical and housing care for the homeless population and funding to meet those standards.

• Medical partnerships for every shelter in the city so that guests have access to timely medical and behavioral care, and shelter staff have access to information and resources.

• Ongoing COVID-19 testing and screening across the population of homeless and vulnerably housed in order to create an early warning system of a second wave, with a racial equity analysis to inform city priorities.

-Suzanne Hanney, from prepared sources