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COVID-19 and the Well-Being of the Homeless Population

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2021

Fides A. del Castillo ,
Clarence Darro B. del Castillo  and
Jeff Clyde Corpuz Open the ORCID record for Jeff Clyde Corpuz [Opens in a new window]
Fides A. del Castillo*
Affiliation:
Theology and Religious Education Department, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
Clarence Darro B. del Castillo
Affiliation:
Lumina Foundation for Integral Human Development, Laguna, Philippines
Jeff Clyde Corpuz
Affiliation:
Theology and Religious Education Department, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
*
Corresponding author: Fides A del Castillo, Email: [email protected].
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A previous editorial by the Editor-in-Chief discusses public health and steps towards recovery from the COVID-19 disaster. 1 In addition to the current public health disasters, and multiple disasters such as earthquakes, typhoons and hurricanes, worldwide recession, and global morbidity and mortality, the authors would like to highlight the need for responses to deal with the well-being of the homeless population due to their condition and vulnerability in the society. People who are experiencing homelessness are considered vulnerable and “preferential options for the homeless” must be considered.

Keywords

homeless populationCOVID-19responsewellbeing
Type
Letter to the Editor
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , June 2022 , pp. 856
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2021

The novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, which causes COVID-19, has reached 89571229 confirmed cases worldwide and caused 1924659 deaths as at January 10, 2021. 2 Aside from increased morbidity and mortality, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increase in homelessness. People experiencing homelessness are at great risk of COVID-19 and could facilitate virus transmission. Reference Tsai and Wilson3 Moreover, homeless people do not have the means to acquire the “essential goods” during the pandemic since they lack the resources.

Undeniably, the pandemic has affected all people in the world. Due to unemployment, recession, and economic crisis, there is an increase in the number of people who are experiencing homelessness. In New York alone, there are 57000 people who experienced homelessness during the pandemic. 4 This is a huge number knowing that the homeless people are left with few options for proper food, shelter, and care. Prioritizing the immediate action and response to the community, care, and intervention for the spiritual and physical wellbeing of the homeless population have been the response of the Church and other religious institutions. 5 This is to assist the health care community in mitigating COVID-19.

Faced with the alarming implications for collective health and emotional functioning, it is important to monitor both the physical, as well as the spiritual and mental health of the vulnerable. This can be done by integrating support into general pandemic health care. Reference Pfefferbaum and North6 In order to address this concern, collective efforts by the members of the community must be sought by providing basic needs as well as a counseling session, spiritual direction, and mental health support to nourish the spiritual and psychological wellbeing of the homeless population.

In this time of the pandemic, the global community, be they religious, private, or public institutions are enjoined to help one another to lift up the condition of humanity with particular emphasis on the vulnerable and homeless population. As the medical community provides strong health care, global communities are called to intensify their action and response in recovering normalcy in the world.

References

James, JJ. Public health and COVID-19: From response to recovery. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2020;14(2):161-162.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coronavirus Resource Center, John Hopkins University of Medicine. Covid-19 dashboard. https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html. Accessed January 10, 2021.Google Scholar
Tsai, J, Wilson, M. COVID-19: A potential public health problem for homeless populations. Lancet Public Health. 2020;5(4):e186-e187.Google ScholarPubMed
Coalition for the Homeless. Basic facts about homeless: New York City. https://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/basic-facts-about-homelessness-new-york-city/. Accessed December 9, 2020.Google Scholar
The Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. Final Statement of the 2020 PAS Plenary Session. http://www.pas.va/content/accademia/en/events/2020/coronavirus.html. Accessed March 20, 2020.Google Scholar
Pfefferbaum, B, North, CS. Mental health and the Covid-19 pandemic. N Engl J Med. 2020;383(6):510-512.Google ScholarPubMed