Maricopa County increases efforts to help homeless during coronavirus
Apr 29, 2020, 11:00 AM
(Facebook Photo/Central Arizona Shelter Services)
(Facebook Photo/Central Arizona Shelter Services)
PHOENIX – Maricopa County is working with government and nonprofit partners to help individuals experiencing homelessness with shelter and medical care during the coronavirus outbreak.
The Maricopa County Human Services Department has worked to move people off the streets into leased indoor facilities in the East Valley and safer outdoor locations.
“We are fortunate to have strong partners who share our commitment to assisting the most vulnerable among us during this unprecedented time,” department director Bruce Liggett said in a press release Tuesday.
The county is relocating anyone who is willing to tent encampments near the Human Services Campus in Phoenix.
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There, people have access to cold water, hand washing stations, toilets and security.
The county is also testing at-risk categories and secured an additional 200 beds across Maricopa County in the past week.
The department has worked to provide medical care for individuals with coronavirus symptoms.
Over the past week, the county has created care sites and set up a medical triage phone line.
With community partners, they’ve tested almost 90 homeless individuals for COVID-19 and only one has tested positive.
