March 26th, 2020

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Good morning,

 

I apologize for the delayed updates. The situation has been evolving seemingly by the hour and I wanted to make sure I was sharing good information with you that I didn’t anticipate changing right away. 

 

SHELTER UPDATE

The Boise Rescue Mission, Interfaith Sanctuary and Corpus Christi are all open. City Lights continues to shelter women and children. River of Life is business as usual for men. Interfaith has no capacity for families at this time but can shelter men and women. Hays House has capacity to shelter youth.

 

As of today, Thursday, March 26, the following processes are in place:

 

Meal Service at Interfaith Sanctuary

• All meals will be served in the back of Interfaith. All guests on the property will be screened for COVID 19 before being served.

• Guests who are exhibiting symptoms or fever will be assessed and moved through Family Medicine Residency of Idaho’s COVID 19 protocol.

• Hand-washing is required before food is served.

 

Services at Corpus Christi House

• Staffing at Corpus Christi’s building will be 6 days per week from 10am-2pm

• Guests who are not being sheltered by Interfaith Sanctuary, City Lights or River of Life will check-in at the Step-UP Education center at Corpus Christi to sign-up for showers, bathroom, and laundry services 

• Two guests will be allowed in the facility at a time. 

• Mail will be available to all guests in the afternoons at Step-UP education center

• Long-term storage access will be available to guests at 1:00 daily

 

Outdoor Space

• Interfaith Sanctuary’s Outside Campus will be open 8am-8pm. Activities and social services will be offered from 8am-4pm in this back area.

• The back gate and patio of Corpus Christi House will remain closed to prevent gatherings of 10 or more in that confined area. 

 

HOTEL ROOMS

Our Path Home, as an emergency stop gap, secured 30 hotel rooms for families with children and the elderly/medically fragile at a local hotel. By moving 73 guests out of Interfaith, we have freed up shelter space to better and more safely serve guests still sheltering at Interfaith. Ada County has committed to funding the rooms occupied by families with children for a period of 1 month using Indigent Funds. These rooms are full and we do not have plans to add capacity; however, are in the process of identifying a mid- to long-term plan for not only the group at the hotel but also the beds/rooms we’ll potentially need to isolate and quarantine beyond what is available at the Boise Rescue Mission. 

 

MOBILE TESTING and QUARANTINE/ISOLATION PLANS

There is a quarantine and isolation plan in place, led by the Boise Rescue Mission.

 

Shelter and outreach staff are encouraged to call the hospital systems Nonurgent COVID-19 Triage Hotlines:

• St Al’s: 208-302-2683

  • 8:00a – 8:00p, 7 days a week

• St Luke’s: 208-381-9500

  • 7:00a – 9:00p, 7 days a week

 

The Rescue Mission and Interfaith Sanctuary are screening guests at intake for COVID-19 symptoms.

 

FMRI will staff a mobile testing van at Interfaith Mon-Fri between the hours of 4:30p – 7:00p. Rescue Mission staff from River of Life or City Light will call Interfaith to alert the FMRI testing van of any need for testing based on a positive screen. 

 

Ada County Paramedics is also staffing 2 quick response units, running 24/7, to respond to COVID-19 related 911 calls rather than sending the full complement of ambulance and fire truck. We are trying to do our part to not overwhelm the 911 or hospital systems. Please call the triage lines if symptoms are non-emergent.

 

If a guest screens positive over the weekend on Saturday or Sunday (a fever over 100.4 and at least one other objective symptom), the Rescue Mission will receive and isolate that guest until testing is available through the FMRI mobile testing van on Monday. Shelter staff should try to also screen the guest through one of the hospital triage lines to confirm appropriateness of isolation.  

 

HOMELESS PREVENTION AND RAPID RE-HOUSING

Our Path Home is seeking funders to augment homeless prevention efforts to ensure households do not fall into homelessness for a COVID-related reason: illness, caretaking, reduced work hours, unemployment, etc. We are also keeping a close eye on the federal aid package that will likely bring additional CDBG and ESG resources to move individuals and families into permanent housing. More to come.

 

Everyone please take care and be in touch with any needs or questions you may have.

 

Thank you,

Maureen

 

 

 

 

Maureen Brewer

Our Path Home Administrator

Housing and Community Development

Office: 208-570-6845

mbrewer@cityofboise.org

 

Making Boise the most livable city in the country.