Modesto hotel to house at-risk homeless during coronavirus pandemic
Stanislaus County has reached an agreement with a Modesto hotel owner to provide housing for the at-risk homeless population during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Modesto Hotel at 1720 Sisk Road, near Plaza Parkway, has 121 rooms to shelter people who are over 65 or with underlying health conditions but who are asymptomatic. The county is still working on securing other sites to isolate or quarantine people experiencing homelessness who have tested positive for the virus or have been exposed to it.
The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to ratify the agreement and provide budget authority to secure that and one or two additional sites and provide services, as well as other items including personal protective equipment for the sheriff’s department, for an estimated $2.7 million.
Stanislaus County CEO Jody Hayes said he is confident the county will be fully reimbursed with a combination of state and federal emergency funding.
Stanislaus County identifies people to move
Hayes said the county has already identified 120 people currently living in shelters who meet the criteria to move into the hotel and expects they will be moved in by the end of the week.
Nearly everyone who will be placed at the Modesto Hotel will come from shelters, primarily the Salvation Army which houses up to 388 people.
The idea is to “pull those individuals out of congregate living situations, then homeless shelters will be able to provide more social distancing for the remaining population,” Hayes said “They do not intend to add more homeless to the shelter to backfill.”
He said Sunday he was not aware of anyone staying in a Stanislaus County shelter testing positive for COVID-19.
The agreement with the Modesto Hotel and any others is temporary during the state of emergency, Hayes said.
The effort is part of a statewide initiative, called Project Roomkey, to slow the spread of COVID-19 by providing non-congregate shelter for people experiencing homelessness.
Governor Gavin Newsom said in a press conference Saturday that 10,974 hotel rooms have already been procured throughout the state and that the Motel 6 chain had recently agreed to the use of 5,025 of its rooms for the effort. He said 4,211 people have been placed in rooms thus far.
Hayes said the state provided the county with a list of hotels and motels and the county did the negotiations.
County officials are pursuing one or two other hotel options in the unincorporated area to secure up to 40 units to quarantine and isolate those who have been exposed to or tested positive for the virus. These will be reserved for people without homes who are discharged from hospitals or referred by public health.
In addition to the cost of the hotels, funding will pay for 24/7 armed security, meals that will be delivered to the rooms by The Salvation Army and transportation to medical appointments.
More than half of the $2.7 million will also be used to purchase “critical supplies,” including personal protective equipment for the Sheriff’s Department and Office of Emergency Services.
People placed at the hotel must adhere to a list of rules that include maintaining social distancing; staying inside their assigned rooms except for predetermined exercise and pet breaks, medical appointments and cleaning; and keeping their rooms clean with the products provided. They could face eviction for violating those rules or any laws, interfering with hotel management in any way, smoking in rooms or allowing visitors.
As part of the agreement with the hotels’ owners, the county will maintain control of the entire site on a month-to-month basis and can terminate the agreement at any time with a 30-day written notice.
This story was originally published April 20, 2020 at 12:09 PM.
