Las Vegas shelter reopens week after 2 test positive for coronavirus
Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada opened its shelter back up Wednesday at half-capacity — a week after closing its doors because a homeless man staying there and an employee tested positive for coronavirus.
The nonprofit, which usually sleeps about 516 men, has now placed 254 beds 6 feet apart at its shelter on Las Vegas Boulevard North at the suggestion of health district officials.
Those coming to the shelter will be screened before they enter the shelter. Men who are elderly or disabled will be let into the shelter first, said Tom Roberts, Catholic Charities CEO and deacon.
“We’re doing the best we can to open as many beds as we can as safely as we can because those are our people,” Roberts said. “It is heartbreaking for me to see how many people are on the streets.
“I know these people, they know us. They are our family.”
For the next few days, Southern Nevada Health District officials will train employees on how to screen for symptoms of COVID-19.
Those with symptoms will be directed to Las Vegas and Clark County’s quarantine and isolation facility, which is being erected in the parking lot at Cashman Center and is expected to receive patients by 6 p.m. Monday.
While Catholic Charities was closed, city and county officials set up a controversial makeshift parking lot shelter at Cashman Center to accommodate the displaced homeless. The temporary shelter drew criticism from some who called the setup inhumane.
The temporary shelter offered a place for the homeless to be screened by medical professionals and sleep on painted rectangles feet apart and was meant to be open until Friday.
Officials announced Wednesday that because Catholic Charities reopened, they would close the parking lot shelter, which slept 591 people since it opened March 26.
“We’re going to evaluate this as we go, we don’t know exactly what tomorrow will bring,” city spokesman Jace Radke said. “The city and the county and the partners will react to ensure that everyone has a place to social distance.”
Before the reopening, Catholic Charities disinfected the shelter, increased cleaning frequency and secured protective gear for all staff, Roberts said.
Volunteer services are suspended indefinitely.
For guests at the shelter who exhibit COVID-19 symptoms overnight, there is a 10-bed isolation room set up until they can be examined by health officials. A system is in place to mark where each guest is sleeping as to better track who was exposed to the disease if someone later tests positive.
All Catholic Charities services, including its Meals on Wheels program, which provides food for more than 2,200 seniors across the valley, have continued to operate, Roberts said. The food pantry is expected to open by Monday.
Roberts said that though Catholic Charities reopened it shelter, there are not enough emergency shelter beds to accommodate the 5,530 homeless counted in Clark County on one night in January 2019.
“Even when we are completely at capacity of 500 beds, that is not the full solution,” Roberts said. “We are struggling to have enough staff, but we are committed to opening the shelter this evening.”
Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5244. Follow @ByBrianaE on Twitter.
