Written by Michael Palomba
Homelessness, which is already a huge problem in California, is now an even bigger and potentially dangerous problem.
That’s because disease can spread rapidly among the homeless, and with the coronavirus pandemic, that’s a major concern.
Governor Gavin Newsom recently announced that homeless people would be prioritized as a vulnerable population. He didn’t have many details to offer, but said there would be a major push to move people off the streets and into indoor settings. By “indoor settings,” he was referring to hotels and motels purchased by the state in recent days, as well as 450 state-owned trailers.
It’s at a time like this when the general population gets to experience the negative side effects of Democratic rule. Egregious policies of high taxes and regulation have caused housing prices in the state to skyrocket. And now the large number of people who are homeless as a result of that are in serious danger of both contracting the disease and spreading it to others.
San Francisco has allocated $5 million for a number of initiatives to protect the city’s 8,000 homeless people from the outbreak. These efforts are focused mostly on its highly populated northeast neighborhoods.
In Los Angeles, hand washing stations are being delivered throughout the city. New protocols, such as social distancing, are being implemented as well.
The coronavirus pandemic will eventually end, but it’s important that we learn from it. And one of the most important lessons we can learn from this is how vulnerable and how much of a liability the homeless population can be in times like these.
We didn’t see this pandemic coming, and we may not see the next one coming either. However, if we make lasting changes, including measures to get the homeless back on their feet and off the streets, we will be better prepared for anything that comes our way.
