Shelters Prepare for Swine Flu Pandemic

by Shannon Moriarty · 2009-05-02 15:40:00 UTC
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Health organizations and government officials are not the only ones preparing for a possible pandemic. Homeless shelters are busy developing plans on their own. In the event of a swine flu pandemic, homeless shelters could face the worst of the burden due to the nature of services provided.

In Knoxville, Tennessee, local officials are focusing on homeless shelters even more than schools and emergency responders, according to VTV.com:

Hundreds seek shelter nightly, and even more need services during the day; Many people already seek help from agencies in Knox County, but if the cases of swine flu show up, so will the need.

Ola Blackmon-McBride is the Director of Programs for the Salvation Army in Knoxville, and she says, "We know that this is going to happen, we don't know when, and the most important thing is we need to be prepared."

The Salvation Army was just one of many agencies in attendance to hear more about what the Knox County Health Department suggests in a time of pandemic.

Ola says, "We know that we're going to be impacted, we know that we're going to have people who are sick and we're going to be responsible for those, so we want to be prepared."

And the assistance the Salvation Army provides to the homeless, could mean a bigger burden on them in a time of pandemic. As the Health Department estimates up to 40% of people unable to work, but more people would turn to the agencies for help.

But since they don't know how short their staff will be, more people will have to pitch in.

Hard to believe that the same year shelters have grappled with budget cuts, staffing shortages, and dramatic increases in demand, they're now preparing plans for a swine flu pandemic.

Shannon Moriarty has worked in various homeless shelters and service organizations around the country. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.
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