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Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell spoke at a press conference on August 31.
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell today provided an update on the city’s interim selection and triage program (POST), which began in April to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 among the homeless population.
The program, led by Major Mike Lambert of the Honolulu Police Department, provides emergency shelter for the homeless, a group of giant tents set up in Keehi Lagoon Beach Park.
In POST, other homeless people get a set of care, a camp with a tent, several foods a day, snacks, water and access to the sun’s strength to recharge electronic devices, Lambert said.
They are tested for COVID-19 when taken and placed in a transparent domain if they are negative. Health care providers, as well as many non-profit partners and agents, send POST to provide services. COVID-19 screening occurs several times a week.
The HPD runs the program, a continuation of a previous program, because many officials meet with homeless people while answering unwanted calls and can protect them.
“These officers dedicate their hearts to this program,” said LT Joseph O’Neal of HPD. “We have agents here who supply food to members of the family circle. “
To date, about 500 homeless people have been cared for in POST and part of it has gone to other shelter programs. Approximately 30 other people met with their families and about 20 moved into permanent housing.
On 1 September, the first positive case of COVID-19 was detected, and there have been a total of seven since then. Everyone who tested positive was moved off site for medical care, Caldwell said.
Currently, there are 89 homeless people in Keehi Lagoon and 110 tents, according to HPD, but there are many more available. The typical length of stay is two weeks to one month.
Staying in POST is voluntary, O’Neal said, and everyone can leave at any time; However, if they return, they will want to be re-tested for COVID-19 when they take it.
The program was implemented with an estimated $2. 5 million from the federal coronavirus relief program; in fact, it is a continuation of the Homeless Awareness and Navigation Program (HONU), an earlier program Lambert had launched.
Caldwell said Lambert and HPD agents set up the tents themselves, making a big investment, and mobilized to manage the site.
“It’s a testament to the agents, our men and women in blue, for their commitment and participation in this program,” he said. “The other thing I think it does is build relationships with our homeless population that can see the police as a threat.
Watch the information video above or stop on Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s Facebook page.
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