Update on COVID Hotels & what you can do...

 
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Update on the COVID Hotels

The city of Philadelphia’s Office of Homeless Services was operating two hotels for people over 65 or with pre-existing conditions, who did not have a safe place to avoid COVID-19: The Holiday Inn Express at 13th and Walnut, and the Fairfield Inn at 13th and Spruce.

Between December 18th and December 31st, the city forced residents to move out of the Holiday Inn Express into other sites, in which people had to share rooms or bathrooms. The Fairfield Inn continues to provide safe COVID shelter for residents luckily enough to be placed there instead.

The new sites residents were moved to include:

21st and Tioga

  • Everyone must check in and out in an indoor common area where mask use is not enforced.

  • The rooms do not have working outlets, forcing people to spend time in common areas.

9th and Cambria

  • Some toilets and showers do not work, forcing more people to share bathrooms.

  • The elevator is broken, but people with mobility challenges were given rooms on the third floor.

600 E. Luzerne

  • A former halfway house, leased from Corrections Corporation of America.

  • The hot water is inadequate, and the heat did not work in many rooms for several days.

The city has cited a lack of funding as the reason the hotels must close. However, the Office of Emergency Management can apply to be reimbursed by FEMA for 75% of the costs but has not even decided to apply for the funding. They could have applied for that funding back in May, and used it to keep the hotels open.

The new sites are NOT considered COVID-safe shelter by FEMA and will not be eligible for reimbursement, leaving the city on the hook for their full cost, losing out on as much as $1.5 million per month that could be used to provide additional shelter or actual housing.

IT IS NOT TOO LATE FOR THE CITY TO ACT! They can immediately apply for FEMA reimbursement, and use the funding to buy a hotel, rent more hotels, or find dormitory space to provide safe, non-congregate shelter, as many other cities, from Seattle to Baltimore, have.

What you can do:

  • Saturday at 3pm: Tune in to WURD Radio 900AM or on Facebook to hear Adam Thiel, director of the Office of Emergency Management, defend his office’s actions.

  • Continue to call, email, and tweet the Mayor and Office of Homeless Services

  • Stay tuned for more updates.

 
Juno Rosenhaus1 Comment