We are already into week three of our COVID-19 response and it's starting to feel like a new normal of sorts. We are proud of the work we have accomplished and the support we have received from the community - a huge thank you to our staff for the sacrifices they have made in order to continue serving our clients and to our community supporters who have provided much-needed donations.
Our consolidated shelter is running smoothly - we now have 26 clients at the site and have launched a screening process that will allow us to accept a limited number of newly homeless clients on a case-by-case basis, starting this week. We are working with Pillars Community Health to screen our current shelter clients, screen any new arrivals and monitor any symptomatic motel clients.
We continue to support those clients who are staying in area motels as well as our housed clients, who are visited at least once per week and given basic food and essential goods. We have not had to spend significant funds on food thanks to support we have received from the St. Francis Food Pantry, our food rescue program and donations.
Despite the crisis, business does go on as usual. This week, four clients will move from shelter to housing! Our efforts continue to move clients into housing as soon as possible through our internal resources and the COC Coordinated Entry path.
We have been able to raise nearly half of what we need to support our COVID-19 response efforts through the generous donations of our friends, both new and old. BEDS Plus has always benefited from grass roots, individual support. Now, more than ever, individual gifts are helping to meet needs while we wait for public dollars to be made available.
We are happy to report that our clients are staying inside and taking this COVID-19 crisis seriously. We are beyond grateful to the many who have supported BEDS during this crisis, and our clients are especially touched by all that everyone has done.
Tina Rounds
Executive Director
