Different pop-up shelters have started in different cities, such as the rooftop shelter in Los Vegas, but in general the situation has only worsened for people on the streets. Unfortunately, the same reasons that situations have gotten worse is the same reason why the way people can help is limited.
Sean Cononie, the head of the COSAC Foundation and publisher of the Homeless Voice, said that general advice in this time is to “stay away from them.” This is mainly because neither someone trying to help nor the homeless person have any way to protect themselves from each other. “The Homeless can hide themselves, they know the tricks, but some are too mentally disheveled to do it,” Cononie further explains, and anyone could potentially be carrying the virus.
Ideally donations are best, they directly assist the organizations that are helping the homeless — like the COSAC Foundation’s team assisting those who can’t abide by stay-at-home orders — and lead to the least amount of possible contact. A more direct way to individually help though, according to Cononie, could be leaving food a safe distance away for someone, “You can order a pizza and put it down for them and just let them take it.”
Sean Cononie, the head of the COSAC Foundation and publisher of the Homeless Voice, said that general advice in this time is to “stay away from them.” This is mainly because neither someone trying to help nor the homeless person have any way to protect themselves from each other. “The Homeless can hide themselves, they know the tricks, but some are too mentally disheveled to do it,” Cononie further explains, and anyone could potentially be carrying the virus.
