Seattle homeless getting vaccinations and FEMA funded hotels
Seattle homeless are now getting their COVID-19 vaccination shots, but the city is expanding its use of a federal program that pays off in hotel accommodation for the homeless. Two other hotels in downtown Seattle are currently being filled with people who have stayed in group accommodations. The cost is $ 12 million, but Seattle officials are increasingly confident that federal taxpayers will take the bill.
Homeless proponents say it is a good investment. “The entire community has the benefit of containing the virus by keeping the people affected by homelessness safe and healthy,” said Diane Yentel, CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
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FEMA has been reimbursing cities for most of the cost of housing the homeless in hotel rooms since the pandemic began. Under President Trump, the reimbursement rate was 75% and hotel stays were limited to 30 days, although cities have received extensions. President Biden raised FEMA’s reimbursement to 100% and guaranteed the money through September 30th. To be eligible for reimbursement, the homeless must be at least 65 years old and have underlying health issues, according to FEMA. But Yentel and other homeless proponents say the rule was not enforced consistently as some cities received refunds of all hotel rooms occupied.
San Francisco was the most aggressive user of the homeless hotels. There are currently 24 hotels in operation, accommodating 2,114 people who were either housed in homeless camps or in emergency shelters. It costs the city $ 19.7 million a month, and officials have so far requested a $ 65.9 million reimbursement from FEMA. FEMA has been slow to repay after sending just $ 5.1 million to San Francisco.
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Despite the increased spending on homeless hotels, the number of people living on the streets in San Francisco and Seattle is increasing. According to the HUD, homelessness rose 6.2% in the year before the pandemic, making it among the highest in the country. Several city parks are lined with tents. Some people even camp on city ball fields and on school grounds.
A government monitoring group says cities like Seattle and San Francisco created their homelessness crises, and now taxpayers are being asked to fix them.
“The problem existed long before Covid devastated the country,” says Tom Schatz, President of Citizens Against Government Waste. “The federal government shouldn’t give cities money to address problems they have had for many, many years.”
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Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., Agrees. “We’re not really straightforward with the American taxpayer in responding to the pandemic and many other things that have nothing to do with Covid 19,” Newhouse said.
The US $ 1.9 trillion bailout bill gives cities $ 5 billion to help tackle homelessness. Many homeless lawyers hope that the money will be used to buy the hotels currently rented so that they can be permanent homeless shelters.