Stamford homeless shelter moving clients out of hotels

STAMFORD — At the height of the pandemic, homeless shelters in the state moved people out of their group facilities and into hotels, to promote safe social distancing in less congregate settings.

Now, many of them, including Stamford-based Pacific House, are seeking other arrangements.

The shelter’s clients who have been living at a Super 8 hotel will move out by the end of the month and find another housing option. That might come through Pacific House’s affordable housing complexes, through a housing voucher or through reunification with friends and family, said Rob Lockhart, director of program services at the all-men’s shelter.

Individuals who can’t secure one of those housing options will be offered a space to live at Pacific House’s emergency shelter.

“I hope to put people’s minds to rest that we want to make sure that, at the end of the day, everybody will have a roof over their head and won’t be left behind,” Lockhart said. “But it’s going to take some juggling to make that happen.”

The move has some clients worried.

“All the way around, it’s just not safe,” said Leon Standly, a resident at Super 8, who had resided at Pacific House since mid-March before moving into the local hotel.

The Stamford man said Pacific House leaders did an excellent job by swiftly moving clients out of hotels when COVID-19 initially struck. But now, he said he worries about their ability to ensure his and others’ safety as clients move back into the shelter.

“I feel they’re leaving us hanging,” Standly said.

But Elsi Lyons, director of development and events at Pacific House, said arrangements are being made and protocols put in place to protect residents once they return.

All clients will be required to undergo a touchless temperature screening every time they enter the building, Lyons said. If a person tests positive for COVID-19, they will be sent immediately to quarantine by themselves in a hotel room. If an individual shows symptoms of COVID-19, they’ll likewise be quarantined in a room at the emergency shelter, staff said.

Shelter residents will not eat together in the cafeteria. Staff will bring food to clients in their rooms. Masks will be required and hand sanitizer stations will be set up throughout the building. All beds are separated by 6 feet or more and partitions have been erected in sleeping areas and bathrooms, Lyons said.

“We’re asking people to work with us during the crisis and our goal is to get everybody housed,” Lockhart said. “At the end of the day, we have a reduced capacity at the shelter. ... So, we’re asking everybody to kind of be part of the process.”

Steve DiLella, director of Individual and Family Support Programs with the state Department of Housing, said the hotel effort was always intended to be a temporary arrangement.

The larger goal, as always, remains to get homeless people housed in their own apartments and living back in the community, he said.

“As we house more people, we’ve been able to reduce the number of hotels that we need,” DiLella said. “It’s a combination effort.”

Workers last week were renovating the Pacific House shelter, just weeks before Super 8 residents are expected to return.

Pacific House leaders said there were 54 clients staying at the Super 8 at one point; 33 have found their own housing through a voucher, friends, family or one of Pacific House’s “deeply” affordable housing complexes.

“I’m stressed to be honest,” Lockhart said about the process of moving.

“There are a lot of demands and there’s a lot at stake here and I need a lot of things to go right and I need everybody to be a part of that,” he said.

“But I think we can do it,” he said. “We’re going to make sure that no one is left behind.”