California has received federal approval for an initiative to procure hotel and motel rooms to homeless residents during the novel coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday.
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency approved California’s request to launch the program, called Project Roomkey. FEMA will reimburse up to 75 percent of the state and local government expenses required to procure the unused rooms as well as supporting meal, custodial and security services.
Newsom said the state has acquired 6,867 hotel and motel rooms for the program’s first phase, with a goal of 15,000. Nearly 900 homeless residents have already been housed in the acquired rooms.
“This is first in the nation,” Newsom said of the project and FEMA’s approval. “Their support is profoundly significant to address this crisis head-on. It’s all around making sure we address the most vulnerable Californians with the kind of acuity and focus that is required at this moment.”
The state will first focus on assisting homeless residents who have tested positive for the virus, may have been exposed or are at a particularly high risk of contracting the virus.
Local governments and their relevant partner organizations will also provide behavioral health and general healthcare services at the procured rooms.
In addition to FEMA footing three-quarters of the bill for the program, Newsom said the state has also provided $650 million in emergency grants and $150 million in emergency aid to local governments around the state, which should “address the issue of the 25 percent gap amply.”
State officials plan to continue discussions about extending the leases with each acquired property, which have month-to-month extension clauses.
“This was the crisis that predated the current crisis in the state of California and we’re doing everything in our power to meet it head-on,” Newsom said. “It’s a county-state partnership with the county fundamentally driving the car and the state of California building the car.”
As of Friday morning, the state has distributed more than 38 million N95 masks, face shields, surgical gowns and other personal protective equipment throughout the state, Newsom said. State officials hope to eventually distribute some 100 million pieces of personal protective equipment to medical facilities in California.
32 comments
Those hotel and motel rooms are gonna be ruined.
They’re definitely gonna trash the rooms and steal everything.
Why jump immediately to negative conclusions? The fact of the matter is that if nobody rents those vacant hotel rooms pretty quickly it is likely that the hospitality industry in San Francisco (which used to be the #1 destination city in the world until a couple of months ago) will completely implode. The economic implications, already dire, would be devastating to the city, state and nation. With this new program thousands of rooms throughout the city and state will be rented out for a healthy daily rate over the duration, providing a significant, perhaps lifesaving, financial backstop for the developing crisis. I realize that during these unsettling times it can seem like all around us is being torn asunder, overwhelming many with fear. Nevertheless, if we can rise to the challenges, one at a time, with due consideration, thoughtfulness and a positive attitude we can mitigate the damage and start the healing without losing our minds and souls.
I’m sure you’d love to be one of the residents who used to to live to a classy, high-rate hotel which is now completely occupied by drugs addicts and mental patients who rave and rant and cause crime constantly in a 5 mile radius.
I completely agree with you. Your detractor needs to read that these are hotel and motel rooms, not apartment or condo buildings where people live long-term. This is requisitioning what is already temporary housing for an alternate temporary housing need. It is important to understand that sheltering the homeless is a protection for them and for those who must walk the streets for essential reasons.
Putting all the homeless in hotel rooms is gonna create a whole pool of disease and filth. Can’t imagine what the maids are gonna have to go through.
I tend to agree, I work in DT Concord and went to PetSmart to pick-up food, I saw one of the regulars, Cindy- she has an apt and then doesn’t, pushing a shopping cart from the liquor store. She and her boyfriend have lived under the freeway near Market st, then moved to Home Depot. Several of us tried to get her into a shelter program, but she’d rather have her beer. Some of the others in Todos Santos often yelled at us (never walk alone) when we were walking to either get coffee or exercise. It’s a slippery slope. I imagine they all have to stay in the room and can only go out for essentials. My pilot friend has had to shelter in place at hotels when he flys.
Anything less than the Four Seasons would be inhumane
The homeless obviously aren’t gonna be tested for covid-19 before they check into these hotels or motels. If one person has it, that disease is gonna spread to the rest of the place and its staff. Nope.
So I re-read the article and they’re focusing on those with positive test results, have had exposure, or at most risk. That makes it a worse plan.
lol yeah if they put the at most risk with those who have it they will be partying together doing drugs/drinking booze which will in return lower their immune systems even more so and the infected will spread it to the most at risk, not very smart unless they are gonna separate them (at most risk / infected ) in diff hotels.
Party Time at the Motel 6 tonight !
Im slightly flabbergasted.
“The state will first focus on assisting homeless residents who have tested positive for the virus, may have been exposed or are at a particularly high risk of contracting the virus.”
How is this program going to work? This seems like a disaster with all good intention.
” Local governments and their relevant partner organizations will also provide behavioral health and general healthcare services at the procured rooms.”
Where are the funds coming from? Where are these employees that somehow have the time and resources to focus on this?
Once again, a band-aid solution to a glaring problem. What happens to the motel/hotels afterwards?
Exactly, and how is homelessness determined. It is a band-aid
I sure hope it’s not a blank check, not that the State would fleece the Feds ?
Number of “Homeless” with Corona in L.A.: 1
Number of “Homeless” with Corona in SF: 0
This is just a way to house them, and have the private sector foot the bill. Socialism at its finest. Good luck getting them out.
“This the first in the nation”. This is where Mr. Newsom consistently blows it. Never beat on your chest about a pilot program. Be humble and hopefully it works. The adulation comes after the success, not before it. I can’t believe his handlers don’t help him with this stuff.
That said, there are people who thought renting hotel rooms to The Who was a good idea. TV sets in the pool……..
Didn’t Keith Mood blow up a toilet and drive a Lincoln Continental into the pool?
It took the coronavirus for anyone to do anything about the massive homeless problem here. honestly you don’t even see dogs living on the streets like you do in other countries because animal services picks them up and they get adopted out or taken to rescues-but people are left basically to die. I’m glad someone is finally doing something!!!!
Excellent point, Janon.
What happens to a nation’s medium of exchange (its money) when it is just given away without anything in return. We usually give our labor for that medium and in exchange receive a form of credit that can be used to get the things we need. When a government gives it away by just printing more money instead of getting some back by, say, taxes or levies the value of the medium is diminished so things you want require more of the medium. Inflation happens. Those of us who have more dollars than (place name of your deity here) should either step up and start supporting the current giveaway to protect our system down the road, or they should be forced to step up. This massive giveaway by our elected officials is going to bite us badly in the backside.
RECALL NEWSOME!!!
“FEMA will reimburse UP TO 75%…..
Does it include damages the homeless will absolutely cause? Does it include the expensive hazmat cleaning of the infected rooms? The replacing of mattresses? Or are they going they going to put special hospital beds in the rooms so they can be wiped down and disinfected? Wonder if the hotels will get cockroach and bedbug problems afterwards.
Agreed.
get them off the streets and in a place where you can control and monitor them until this is over.
I sure hope they’ll be expected to adhere to the no smoking rules 😂
Just one more reason why homeless drug addicts cannot be allowed to roam free.
Who is going to enforce them to actually stay in their hotel room? They are gonna be going back n forth to get their drugs from their homeless friends and going out to get more booze and wont care about spreading it or catching it and will still end up in the hospital using your mother/fathers ventilator.
And when this is all over who is gonna kick them out when they all refuse to leave the hotel after they have trashed it?
They should have drug sniffing dogs do patrols walk by door to door and any homeless living in one of these hotels gets kicked out if they are.
Why paint a broad brush? Homeless can mean people down on their luck, or mental problems, or Veterans that have drug problems. Or just nutty folks.
Now is the time to help them help themselves. You can determine if they are going to be civil and obey the rules. Then if they need rehab that they want and comply. If not out they go. I am sure there will be people in charge to see if they are able to live that way. Remember we are a community, and they are people too. They can spread the virus so we need to keep them healthy. My God, the poor souls. Have mercy people. Please.
I have a friend who’s homeless and at high risk. I’ve asked him what are folks doing in terms of social distancing. He told me most are very scared and trying to stay away from each other but it’s hard. He said there are a few who don’t seem to care but majority are doing the best they can. He said MORE people were on beaches during spring break and he see’s more teenagers walking around concord together not caring then he experiences in the homeless population as a whole. If you think these people thought “when i grow up, I want to be a drug addict and homeless” you’re wrong. Being homeless is an exhausting and horrible existence. Everyone’s story is different, and the reason’s behind homelessness is complicated. To make sweeping generalizations is shortsighted, lacks critical thinking and does nothing but exacerbate the problem. Yes, there are people within our community that steal, use drugs/alcohol and don’t care about others. Chances are they’re sitting in a nice house, wearing nice clothes and reading this on an expensive laptop. They’re called white collar criminals and they inflict more harm on more people than any homeless person could ever aspire too. But if it makes you feel better to take you frustrations out on a on folks living a miserable existence, more power to you. That’ll solve the problem…
Homeless can be your child’s friend from school who’s parents lost their jobs or maybe a parent died or have been living in their car or sleeping on the floor of friends that kicked them out when the shelter in place happened. You can’t lump all homeless into one group.
The homeless I know are in their 50s and up. They can’t afford $1600 month in rent. So they sleep in their cars. They are good people who are in unfortunate circumstances.
Time to open up those hearts and homes people!!! I say every person who agrees with this please take in one homeless person and let them stay with you. Let’s house only families with kids down o their luck in hotel rooms and have to pass drug screens to get in.
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