Two Crises And One Cause: COVID-19 And Homelessness

Ahmed Buck bites into his one-dollar sandwich from McDonald’s as another person flicks their cigarette bud at us. Buck is standing under the trees of Civic Space Park in the heart of downtown Phoenix alongside a handful of other people. The sound of the Light Rail and car horns fill the empty area.

Central Avenue in downtown Phoenix is lined with ornate buildings, popular restaurants and sleeping bags set up near signs with phrases like, “Homeless. Anything helps.”
As each year passes, the number of people experiencing homelessness in Downtown Phoenix continues to increase. These numbers are expected to follow the upward trend as the coronavirus pandemic persists.

“We’re not all bad,” said Buck. Many of those who are experiencing homelessness do not have any other choice, he said.

In January, 7,419 people experiencing homelessness were counted in the streets of downtown Phoenix, according to the Human Services Department in Phoenix. However, that number is just an estimate and it is actually believed that there are approximately 25,000 or more people experiencing homelessness in Maricopa County whether that be at a shelter or not.

“It can happen to anyone, anytime. Sometimes it’s a result of circumstances beyond our control — job loss, eviction, divorce, domestic violence, mental illness, medical bills,” says the website of the Phoenix Rescue Mission, which assists men, women and children experiencing homelessness, addiction or trauma.

The average middle-class American cannot afford to be out of a job for weeks at a time, at least not comfortably, according to a finding by author Alissa Quart. People who were already living paycheck to paycheck had to make tough decisions about what they were going to do with that money. Do they use that money for groceries for themselves and their kids? Do they pay rent? Do they pay their cell phone bill? These questions and conditions contribute to the number of people experiencing housing insecurity.

“I didn’t know what to do,” said Ayanah Moore while folding up her sleeping bag to begin her journey to her next location. “Times are really tough, and I had to make a decision.”
Moore has been living from shelter to shelter, street to street since the end of April. From Los Angeles to Las Vegas to Phoenix, she says it's all the same. Everyone stares. The shelters barely help. There aren’t enough resources, Moore said.

This is the second time Moore has experienced homelessness. After losing her job in 2016, her landlord evicted her, and she was forced to leave. Since then, she had started working at a couple different fast-food jobs and she had finally saved enough money to move into a small apartment again, she said.

When the coronavirus started to spread, her hours were cut drastically. Moore worked the night shift and fast food places were closing early. She called these the “corona hours.” She couldn’t keep up with bills and she said she was not offered government assistance to lessen the costs. Moore said she did what she does best and moved on to find a new home.

Space, Shelters and Stimulus Bill

Governmental tactics like the stimulus bill and the full list provided by the Department of Health and Human Services were put into place to hopefully alleviate some of the financial hardships people all over America were experiencing in the spring. There are programs for families, older adults, those with disabilities and many others for different specific needs.

Some people were not able to apply for these programs if, for example, they didn’t have a state ID. Businesses here and there offered their workers paid leave for a few weeks, but not all businesses could afford to do such a thing. Some landlords offered a delayed payment option for rent, however, when someone is out of work for an extended period of time this extension is still not enough for those struggling.

Buck is one of the millions of Americans who has not yet received his stimulus bill, according to findings by ProPublica. Before the coronavirus pandemic, he was employed with Knight-Swift, a trucking company.

“It’s a bad situation,” said Ahmed Buck. “Anybody could fall into this.”

The money he made with Knight-Swift was barely getting him by, he said. When the pandemic hit, he was out of his job and he was faced with having to choose between starving or giving up his apartment.

In order to help ease the impact of the pandemic on those who experienced a job loss, the city of Phoenix was granted $293 million dollars from the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund, according to the COVID-19 information page on the city of Phoenix website. $21.5 million is being allocated to help the city’s most vulnerable populations like those experiencing homelessness. With these funds, Phoenix is providing services such as outreach programs, permanent supportive housing and emergency shelters, according to the city.

Of the approximately 25,000 people experiencing homelessness, only about 4,000 of those were in shelters, according to the Phoenix Rescue Mission. If shelters could expand their bed space, more people would be living under a roof, said Bree Mashinot, who works and volunteers at homeless shelters around the Valley.

Along with restaurants, schools and other businesses, shelters have also had to adapt to social distancing rules. This has caused a decrease in the amount of available space and beds for those who may need it, according to Mashinot.

Recent plans by the Human Services Campus in downtown Phoenix to expand the number of beds available to those who are experiencing homelessness was turned down because those in the surrounding areas were worried about a potential increase in crime and trash, according to statements made in a city of Phoenix public meeting in July.

There is an influx of people experiencing homelessness yet there are less beds available. This is causing more and more people to be forced to live in unsafe and harsh conditions, said Mashinot. “The winter months are approaching, the coronavirus is not going away soon and we’re also getting into flu season,” she said. “This is not good for these people.”

Resources and Support

“COVID-19 has limited everything for me,” said Buck. The only thing that has helped him was applying and receiving a state ID through the Central Arizona Shelter Services, Buck said. “I believe in possibility but it’s hard when you don’t have the resources.”

Those who care for these people being affected by the coronavirus pandemic continue to serve those in need, despite the risk to their health. Volunteers know that these people don’t have much, if any, of a support system, said Mashinot.

“We will be there for them to turn to even in during this chaotic time,” she said.

The Future

Every year in January, The Maricopa Association of Government, or MAG, does a county-wide count of those experiencing homelessness in both shelters and unsheltered areas. 2021 may be the first year hundreds of volunteers and MAG workers do not gather and count these people.
“We don’t want to be in a position where we’re going to put people in danger of COVID-19,” said MAG Human Services Planner, Steven Dudasik.

Those experiencing homelessness outside of the shelter system will not be reported as of right now, said Dudasik. The sheltered count will continue as normal.
He said MAG has projected that the number of those experiencing homelessness will increase over past years.

“We do anticipate that there might be an influx of those experiencing homelessness once the eviction moratorium goes away December 31,” Dudasik said. MAG received approximately $29 million from the Continuum of Care Grant, he said. This grant is distributed to providers throughout Maricopa county to put a stop to homelessness.

The Maricopa Association of Governments is prepared to handle and support an increase in those experiencing homelessness.