With temperatures dipping below freezing this weekend, local shelters must weigh the risks of staying open or closing to slow the spread of the virus.
"homelessness"
Library closes and isolation center opens as COVID-19 cases grow among Juneau’s homeless population
A cluster of positive COVID-19 cases among Juneau’s homeless population has risen to at least 30 people. The city will discuss this and other COVID-19 developments during its weekly update at 4 p.m.
City testing Juneau’s homeless as positive COVID-19 cases climb
Staff at the Glory Hall shelter posted on Facebook that free COVID-19 testing will be available in front of the shelter Friday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and encouraged anyone to get tested there, even if they were tested recently.
Juneau Assembly decides to keep using JACC building as emergency warming shelter after all
St. Vincent de Paul Society has a contract with the city to operate the emergency shelter at the JACC until April.
Juneau’s emergency shelter will stay open through September, hopefully longer
Usually in the summer, there’s a drop in demand for services for people experiencing homelessness. But local housing providers say that hasn’t happened this year.
Juneau begins testing homeless population for COVID-19
The City and Borough of Juneau and its partners will have mobile testing tents in the parking lot of the Juneau Arts and Culture Center this week.
Key Alaska lawmakers disagree on whether Legislature must reconvene to approve CARES Act relief
Alaska Senate President Cathy Giessel says the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee can act on all of the requests on Wednesday, but Chairman Rep. Chris Tuck says he doesn’t plan to put the bulk of the funding on the agenda.
Juneau’s downtown homeless shelter takes further steps to protect patrons from COVID-19
The Glory Hall’s director said she hopes serving meals outside is a temporary solution to keeping people safe. She has reached out to the city to ask for a larger indoor space.
‘Hunker down’ doesn’t mean much when you’re homeless
People experiencing homelessness are exempt under Juneau’s hunker-down order. For many of them, the threat of a pandemic is just not as high of a priority as staying warm or getting their next meal.
How can Juneau keep homeless residents safe while also protecting them from coronavirus?
Local service providers are looking for ways to continue helping Juneau’s most vulnerable population while also keeping them safe amid the spread of coronavirus.