Formerly Berkeley Food & Housing Project
When Wildfires and Pandemic Collide
Our staff was recently quoted in this article in the Huffington Post, about the increased risks for those experiencing homelessness due to smoke inhalation on top of COVID concerns.
With these disasters, our homeless population increases, and people who’ve never experienced homelessness are now experiencing it.”
– Angela Upshaw, BFHP’s Associate Director of Programs
Thankfully some of the measures we have been taking to protect our clients from COVID-19 are also beneficial during this time of poor air quality, such as placing people into hotel rooms. To date we have placed 150 veteran households into hotels for the duration of the pandemic. We are also in the process of filling 69 hotel rooms for civilians in Alameda County, as part of Project Safer Ground.
But more is still needed. No one should be living unsheltered, especially right now. Please help by sharing this story to encourage your local and state government to contribute more resources to this crisis.
Learn more about how we are supporting our clients during the pandemic here>>