Alumni Voices: Surviving a Pandemic When Home Isn鈥檛 a Safe Haven
April 17, 2020
- Author
- Mark Johnson
Sheltering at home is even rougher when you don鈥檛 have one. Or the home you have isn鈥檛 safe.
The fear and confinement of the COVID-19-driven stay-at-home orders are stressing those in the best of circumstances. It鈥檚 magnified for someone who is homeless or lives in a home where they are threatened with violence, said Elyse Hamilton-Childres, prevention and intervention services division director at Mecklenburg County Community Support Services. That鈥檚 the county in North Carolina that includes 皇家华人, from which Hamilton-Childres graduated in 2009.
鈥淗omeless and domestic violence shelters are full on a good day,鈥 she said. Now they are overflowing in attempts to maintain safe physical distance between residents.
As uncertainty grows for industries that employ low wage workers, those workers find themselves in a precarious position. Nearly 80,000 renter households in Mecklenburg County spend more than a third of their income on housing and related expenses. In ordinary times, the loss of one paycheck can propel those households into homelessness.
The stresses of job and income loss, children home from closed schools and anxiety from the pandemic are exacerbated among vulnerable populations.
Calls to the Greater Charlotte Hope Line are up more than 40 percent since the start of the pandemic. The Hope Line provides crisis support for domestic violence, sexual assault and parenting stress.
Where does a person without a safe home go to quarantine?
As a leader with Mecklenburg County Community Support Services, Hamilton-Childres is involved on the frontlines of implementing solutions. Mecklenburg County is collaborating with emergency management officials, local nonprofits and businesses to make temporary hotel arrangements for many families experiencing homelessness, as well as individuals and families who do not have a safe place to quarantine and isolate.
Supportive services depend heavily on face-to-face interactions. Hamilton-Childres says her colleagues normally go with clients to court for a protective order, to search for housing, to get a counselor. All of that has changed.
鈥淲e have to be creative and find what support for them we can,鈥 she said. 鈥淗ow can we extend virtual services? How do we ensure the ethics and safety of virtual individual or group counseling? What if clients don鈥檛 have access to technology or that access is in a home with a [domestic violence] offender?鈥
She and her colleagues are working through social media platforms to get information to clients in these situations, get them strategies they might consider. It鈥檚 guidance that鈥檚 as basic as: If the situation escalates at home, what room is safest to be in, with the fewest hard surfaces or potential weapons in it? Or is there a neighbor they can alert in some way?
鈥淲orking in a victim services field, you are trained to be able to adapt quickly, to expect crisis,鈥 Hamilton-Childres said. 鈥淭he magnitude of this pandemic is impacting every system that exists. It鈥檚 really tough and new territory for a lot of people in this field.鈥
Victim service professionals and first responders also need the community鈥檚 help. She said this is an important time to check in with neighbors who might be in difficult domestic situations or have struggled with substance use. Set up a secret signal鈥攁 lamp that they turn on, an object in a window鈥攊f they need help. Help them avoid relapse. Come up with healthy ways they can deal with the stress.
鈥淲e really need everyone in every neighborhood,鈥 she said, 鈥渢o see themselves as being on the front lines.鈥
If you or someone you know needs help, consider the following resources:
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990