Advertisement

Tampa sets up tent city so homeless can shelter in place

‘Hillsborough Hope’ will provide shelter, food and medical treatment to 100 homeless people through the coronavirus shutdown.
 
The city of Tampa along with Catholic Charities Diocese of St. Petersburg have set up an emergency shelter for 100 homeless residents of Hillsborough County complete with a bed, food, toiletries and laundry facilities.
The city of Tampa along with Catholic Charities Diocese of St. Petersburg have set up an emergency shelter for 100 homeless residents of Hillsborough County complete with a bed, food, toiletries and laundry facilities. [ LUIS SANTANA | Times ]
Published March 29, 2020|Updated March 29, 2020

Stories about the coronavirus pandemic are free to read as a public service at tampabay.com/coronavirus. If this coverage is important to you, consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Tampa Bay Times at tampabay.com/subscribe.

• • •

TAMPA — Across Hillsborough County, families are hunkering down at home, hoping their isolation will keep them safe from the coronavirus.

That isn’t an option for the county’s homeless.

With a county-wide order for people to stay indoors now in effect, the city of Tampa is establishing a tent city that will allow up to 100 homeless people to shelter in place.

The city will pay Catholic Charities Diocese of St. Petersburg $120,000 to run a temporary homeless camp for the next 30 days. One hundred tents have been pitched and fenced-off on a site that will also include mobile shower trailers, a mobile laundromat and six portable toilets. Its residents will get three meals a day and, if needed, medical treatment.

The homeless are considered at high risk for the coronavirus, in part because they often have poor health. Making matters worse is that their makeshift life-support system of park restrooms, libraries, coffee shops and gyms where they can wash and shelter are now closed.

“We realized we had homeless people on the street as resources started drying up and they would not be able to access food and things they need,” said Vanessa McCleary, the city’s housing and community development manager.

The camp will be called Hillsborough Hope, after Pinellas Hope, the shelter ministry that Catholic Charities set up in Clearwater in 2007 after police officers slashed tents at a homeless camp near downtown St. Petersburg.

“In Tampa, we help each other in times of need, and Hillsborough Hope is a perfect example,” said Tampa Mayor Jane Castor in a text. "As we all stay safe at home, Hillsborough Hope, in coordination with a host of community partners, is providing shelter to 100 homeless individuals in our community that have no place to go. The sooner we start taking care of each other, the sooner we can get through this together.”

The shelter will be open to any homeless person except for registered sex offenders. Those who turn up will be screened for the coronavirus. Anyone presenting with symptoms will be referred to BayCare Health System, which has kept some test kits aside for the homeless population, McCleary said.

Related: Homeless shelter moves mattresses to underpass to maintain social distancing

City officials had some concerns about putting people in tents but were advised by county health experts it was safer than an indoor shelter.

“They’re not all breathing the same air," said McCleary.

Catholic Charities volunteer Robert Rogers moves a brand new rolled mattress to one of 100 tents set up to shelter homeless people during the coronavirus crisis.
Catholic Charities volunteer Robert Rogers moves a brand new rolled mattress to one of 100 tents set up to shelter homeless people during the coronavirus crisis. [ LUIS SANTANA | Times ]
Keep up with Tampa Bay’s top headlines

Keep up with Tampa Bay’s top headlines

Subscribe to our free DayStarter newsletter

We’ll deliver the latest news and information you need to know every morning.

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

The shelter was put together in little more than a week. Shrubs and bushes were cut down and the site was sprayed for mosquitoes. Electric and water connections were put in place and plans made to handle security and garbage. Temporary floodlighting and fire extinguishers were installed. It wasn’t until Thursday afternoon that the first tent was pitched.

“In a week, we’ve done what it would normally take a year to pull off,” said McCleary.

The camp will go only part way to protecting the county’s homeless. Hillsborough has about 1,600 homeless people, according to the 2019 point-in-time count. The results of this year’s count have yet to be released but about 650 people in the county do not have any shelter, McCleary said.

Homeless people will be referred to the camp by law enforcement once it opens Monday. The city is not disclosing its location for safety reasons.

Maggie Rogers, executive director of Catholic Charities, expects word will also get out among homeless people and the camp will fill up quickly.

She and McCleary were among a dozen people working to get the camp ready Saturday afternoon. Mattresses donated by Ashley HomeStore were placed inside the 10-foot key lime green tents, which are spaced about 5 feet apart. Tents will only house one person each.

Welcome packs for homeless people sheltering at Hillsborough Hope include toiletries and hand sanitizer.
Welcome packs for homeless people sheltering at Hillsborough Hope include toiletries and hand sanitizer. [ LUIS SANTANA | Times ]

Those who are accepted will be given a numbered wrist band that corresponds to the number of their tent. Catholic Charities is also supplying them with water bottles and hand sanitizer. The camp will have a 5 p.m. daily curfew and residents are expected to adhere to the county’s Safer at Home order.

“They will be told if you don’t return tonight, someone else will want your bed,” Rogers said.

People who bring in alcohol or drugs will be bounced from the shelter. Security at the site will be provided by the Tampa Police Department.

Related: From swampland to sprawling homeless refuge: Pinellas Hope celebrates 10 years

About 60 percent of homeless people who stay at Pinellas Hope end up in permanent housing. Up to six case managers from there will work at the Tampa camp to help residents with mental health and substance abuse issues, and with finding work. Catholic Charities plans to look for a site to make Hillsborough Hope permanent.

“We’ve been doing this for a long time,” Rogers said.

To help residents of Hillsborough Hope, Catholic Charities is asking for donations of toiletries, deodorant, underwear, toilet paper, shoes, cleaning supplies and prepared meals and ready-to-eat breakfast items like cereal/granola bars, which can be dropped off at 2021 E Busch Blvd. between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Cash donations can be made at www.ccdosp.org/covid19/ or by texting “novelcorona” to 91999.

• • •

Tampa Bay Times coronavirus coverage

GET THE DAYSTARTER MORNING UPDATE: Sign up to receive the most up-to-date information on COVID-19 and Tampa Bay, six days a week

ISOLATED ENTERTAINMENT: Lists of ideas to help entertain yourself and your kids at home

NEED TAKEOUT?: Here’s the Tampa Bay restaurants offering curbside pick-up or delivery

FOLLOW OUR COVERAGE ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook. Instagram. Twitter. Reddit.

LISTEN TO THE CORONAVIRUS PODCAST: New episodes every week, including interviews with experts and reporters

HAVE A TIP?: Send us confidential news tips

We’re working hard to bring you the latest news on the coronavirus in Florida. This effort takes a lot of resources to gather and update. If you haven’t already subscribed, please consider buying a print or digital subscription.