Watsonville Joins County Homeless Task Force To Fight Coronavirus

WATSONVILLE, CA — A new task force in Santa Cruz County seeks to better protect and serve homeless individuals amid the new coronavirus outbreak.

The task force consists of more than a dozen people, including officials with the county Department of Human Services, cities of Watsonville and Santa Cruz, and experts from local nonprofits. It aims to boost existing efforts and ensure sick and healthy people are sheltered, the county said Tuesday in a news release.

“In our collective efforts to slow down the spread of this dangerous disease, it is especially important that we provide services to the most vulnerable in our community,” said Matt Huffaker, Watsonville city manager.

Watsonville and Santa Cruz are close to finishing a plan to expand shelter capacity in accordance with the shelter-in-place order, which limits beds in shelters based on social distancing requirements, according to the release. More news on additional shelter locations is expected in the days to come.

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The county said it has secured a lease with a hotel/motel and will prioritize housing homeless patients who have tested positive for the virus. The county will pursue additional such agreements if the need arises, but is not currently offering hotel vouchers for sick people in publicly available hotels for medical reasons.

The task force has asked the state for 5,600 meals for homeless residents, the county said in the release.

Officials also plan to ramp up efforts to expand shelters and hygiene infrastructure, and perform outreach. County outreach workers have been trained on COVID-19 symptoms.

“Care for people experiencing homelessness is a vital element of our overall plan to limit the spread of COVID-19 in the Santa Cruz County community," said Elissa Benson, assistant county administrative officer, in the release.

In Santa Cruz a homelessness manager has been hired and Santa Cruz City Schools are helping distribute 75 meals every day to homeless residents, according to the news release. The city is working with the Salvation Army and has hired people to serve the shelter at the National Guard Armory. The Housing Matters building on Coral Street has increased capacity for shelter and health assessments.

Full coronavirus coverage: California Coronavirus: Latest Updates On Cases, Orders, Closures