On March 29, in Chicago, USA, volunteers accepted protective equipment donated by the public. Xinhua News Agency / Agence France
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, March 31st (Reporter Xu Chao) The increasing epidemic situation of the new U.S. Coronary Pneumonia not only stagnates domestic economic activities, but also has a rare impact on social security safety nets including shelters and relief agencies.
The surge in demand is difficult to deal with
The Wall Street Journal reported on the 29th that as one of the first cities in the United States to have a new outbreak of pneumonia, shelters and food distribution points in Seattle, Washington, are welcoming a large number of people seeking help.
Dennis Calhen, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who studies homelessness, said there are about 11,000 homeless people in Seattle, and only about 3,500 of them are sheltered.
The head of Seattle ’s largest shelter, Marty Hartman, said that before the city ’s first diagnosis of new coronary pneumonia, the shelter was almost full, and now they also accept about 25 new families every day.
Ellie Franklin, director of the “crisis connection” of the helpline, said that the suicide, domestic violence and drug abuse helpline in the Seattle area has jumped 25% since the outbreak to about 25,000 a month. Due to lack of manpower to answer the phone, Franklin has been on duty twice in recent days.
In New York City, where the epidemic was most severe, the chief operating officer of the charity organization "Apostle's Canteen" Michael Ottery said that, affected by the epidemic, the organization instead distributed packaged food, but faced with the (Waiting) Team ", the supply is already insufficient.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the stagnation of economic activity hits the poor and the working class hardest, and the pressure on cities with widening income gaps and a high proportion of homeless people has doubled. Relief agencies worry that there is no sign of remission at the moment, and the wave of social help seems to be just beginning, and they have been unable to do so.
"What if it lasts for several months?" Franklin said.
On March 28, medical staff sent the patient to the emergency room of a hospital in Brooklyn, New York. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Guo Ke)
Shrinking resources add new worries
Unlike the relief challenges of previous years, the epidemic has led to a substantial increase in help-seekers, and it is compressing the efficiency of the use of relief resources.
Calhen, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said that of the 575,000 homeless people in the United States, about 70,000 live in Los Angeles, California, with more than 50 middle-aged and elderly. The actual health status of this group is comparable to that of ordinary residents in the 70-year-old age group. Once infected, the chance of hospitalization is higher than that of their peers.
The largest shelter in the city of Seattle usually has 200 to 300 volunteers in operation. Due to the impact of the epidemic, shelters need more people to disinfect the facility regularly and screen out the enrolled personnel, but now almost no volunteers come.
In addition, the separation distance between beds in shelters is usually only more than half a meter, and it is now maintained at more than 1.8 meters to prevent the spread of viruses. This means that the shelter now has about half the capacity.
In New York City, government officials are working to reduce shelter crowding and provide isolated housing for people infected with the virus. The head of a charity organization, Josh Dean, said that showers or toilets for many homeless people have been closed to avoid the spread of the virus.