Coronavirus effects on youth shelters
By Sylvia Lorson
The coronavirus pandemic has left no community untouched. It has affected the way that pretty much everything operates: school, hospitals, grocery stores and homeless shelters.
When the effects of the coronavirus are discussed, the main topics seem to be schooling or everyday-life activities being affected. Not necessarily homeless shelters. But it is such an important aspect of this situation that should be discussed more: How have the people that needed help before the pandemic been affected?
In a report on Ohio homelessness published by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, it said, “Public school data reported to the U.S. Department of Education during the 2017-2018 school year shows that an estimated 34,180 public school students experienced homelessness over the course of the year. Of that total, 374 students were unsheltered.”
Shelter Care is a private, non-profit youth shelter organization based in Ohio with four shelters in the Akron/Tallmadge area. They serve children from the ages of 10-18 years old that are in some sort of crisis whether that be teen pregnancy, a runaway situation, children in the foster care system or a number of other scenarios. These shelters also provide housing and counseling to troubled children that need it.
“We’re small but we do big things here at Shelter Care,” said executive director Wes Fair.
Fair said that when the pandemic began, they saw a drop in the number of children at their shelters.
“And part of that is, I think, because…kids were not willing to go stay somewhere else during that time,” said Fair. “And even the referrals…from the juvenile court and from child welfare…those just kind of slowed down during COVID-19.”
Fair said that their Girl’s Shelter that houses young pregnant teens normally has a waitlist of girls trying to get in but since COVID began they no longer have people waiting to get in, they actually have a spot open.
Despite that there has been a drop in the number of residents, these shelters have stayed open and ready to help any child that needs it. They have moved their counseling to Zoom calls, limit foot traffic in their facilities and require everyone to wear masks to keep their staff and residents safe.
“That’s a big adjustment,” said Fair. “It’s a lot easier to do counseling face to face than it is on a screen. Luckily we have some really seasoned counselors here at Shelter Care that are very gifted in that way.”
So far, these efforts have proven to be extremely helpful because they haven’t had a single case of COVID in any of their shelters.
“Many organizations, foundations and individuals have stepped forward during this time to help provide things we really needed like face masks and cleaning supplies” Fair said. “That’s been a real blessing.”
Since school has started, the shelters’ number of residents is starting to increase again. One of the main reasons behind this is simple: the irregular school hours caused by COVID.
With children either being online for school or only going to school a few days a week and after-school clubs and sports being affected by the pandemic, children aren’t as occupied as they used to be. Meaning they have more time to possibly get into trouble or more time at home with their families which could potentially lead to more domestic violence situations.
“School provides structure,” said Fair. “That’s something they have to get up and get dressed for and go to and put work in for. There’s sort of an external structure that’s in motivation that’s being provided. Because there’s teachers asking them to do their work and…they’re taking attendance at school. Whereas now, that’s not happening for a lot of people. They’re sitting at home.”
The Ohio Domestic Violence Network reported that there have been 109 domestic violence-related deaths from July 1, 2019- June 30, 2020- a 35% increase from the same time period last year. There were children present for 18% of these cases. This increase in violence is largely because of the isolation and social distancing brought on by COVID-19.
In an interview with WOSU Radio, Jo Simonsen, program director with Ohio Domestic Violence Network said, “Families are isolated during this pandemic due to physical distancing. That means that perhaps they don’t have the same relationships or access to their relationships, friends, family members.”
So what this means is that without the regular, structured school weeks that were incredibly important for troubled kids, children are spending more time in their homes and not seeing their peers as regularly as they used to which could lead to bad decisions or conflicts at home.
Shelter Care remains optimistic and continues to help children in need.
“I think because of the pandemic, people have kind of stepped outside of themselves and provided things for us to help which has been a real blessing,” said Fair. “And our staff has risen to the occasion in working with these kids.”
If you are 18 years old or younger and are in need of help, visit ShelterCareInc.org or call their general information line at (330) 630-5600.
