As the temporary homeless shelter at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center has been shut down, as planned, other arrangements are being made to serve the homeless.
Welcome House of Northern Kentucky managed the move of more than 40 homeless citizens from the Northern Kentucky Convention Center into a hotel in Wilder, where they will be housed at the organization’s expense for the 30-day quarantine issued by the State of Kentucky.
Moving to new quarters
The move is phase three of Welcome House’s disaster plan to address the needs of the homeless during the COVID-19 emergency.
Welcome House will spend more than $12,000 per week for the 42 hotel rooms – injecting much-needed revenue into the facility, which was empty in accordance with the state mandate.
Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky is providing transportation. Welcome House and Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky employees will staff the hotel. Each day during the stay, Cornerstone will provide breakfast, Fair Haven and Be Concerned will provide lunch, and PeeWee’s Restaurant will provide hot dinners. Lord’s Gym will be doing regular grocery runs.
“It is amazing and inspiring to see Northern Kentucky come together like this to take care of our homeless citizens,” said Welcome House CEO Danielle Amrine. “This is what’s possible when we all work as a team.”
Amrine said the use of a hotel is ideal for both protecting the homeless population and following the state’s quarantine guidelines. Each guest will have his or her own room, ensuring the requisite social distancing. Guests can shower and otherwise attend to their hygiene needs. The Welcome House nurse will conduct physical exams and consultation.
Danielle Amrine
“And we will also be providing them a level of dignity,” said Amrine. “To see the reactions of these folks when we told them we were moving them to a hotel was both heart-warming and humbling. A few of them cried.”
Also in phase three, the Welcome House mobile medical clinic will continue to visit homeless encampments to take temperatures, provide supplies and education and hand out care packages.
By utilizing the Convention Center for phase two, Welcome House was able to provide 838 bed nights of shelter and service to nearly 140 individuals. Guests received health and case management assessments and regular monitoring. No guests have reported a fever or other COVID-19 symptoms.
Phase one of the Welcome House plan was the implementation of its infectious disease protocol -– including locking down its shelter, closing its Kings Crossing location, providing limited services from its Pike Street facility and having 70-percent of its staff working from home. Welcome House provided hotel rooms for high-risk shelter clients and helping get families off the street. The organization’s Street and Medical Outreach teams continued visiting camps and other areas to check on people, take temperatures, hand out care packages, provide handouts and education and discourage gatherings of 10 or more people.
Welcome House’s mobile medical unit.
Phase four of the Welcome House plan calls for data tracking and reporting. Phase five will include a general debrief, indicated actions and planning for the next disaster.
“I’m proud of how our organization and our team are responding to this emergency,” said Amrine, who worked 13 years at the American Red Cross managing disaster operations, including those related to the 9/11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina and countless tornados. “We have a lot of work left to do. But we’re ready.”
Make a donation to support Welcome House’s work here.
