How Homeless People Have Weathered The Pandemic In Hawaii 0 Data collected from Hawaii and several other states shows that Covid-19 spread more slowly among homeless people compared with the general population.
Last month, Ernest Reese found himself in an unusual situation. A few patients at the Hawaii Homeless Healthcare Hui asked Reese to discharge them into a homeless shelter, but the case manager could not do so because a Covid-19 outbreak had forced the shelter to temporarily freeze admissions.
Instead, he had to release them from care without knowing where they would go next.
“Usually it’s the other way around, I’m trying to sell patients to go to the shelter to get services,” Reese said. “When I have those few that … actually want to go, I couldn’t get them in.”
More than two years into the pandemic, Covid-19 continues to shape the daily lives of Hawaii’s homeless population – but its impact may not be as dire as had been predicted.
