Tips for reporting on

homelessness and COVID-19

•Look at national data
•Some data you'll have to create yourself by pulling from news clips and press releases 
•Find a protagonist 
•Emphasize agency/don't infantilize people experiencing homelessness
•Talk with your editor about whether the story can be done over the phone, or really requires
going into the field 
•Treat everything (your shoes, your clothes, even your notebook) as contaminated 
•Reporting in the streets is likely less dangerous for everyone than reporting in a homeless
shelter
•The most important thing is to not become a vector yourself
 Meeting the needs of our
homeless neighbors during
an epidemic
Bobby Watts
National Health Care for the Homeless Council
National Press Foundation
March 30, 2020
The national health care for the
homeless council
Grounded in human rights and social justice, the NHCHC
mission is to build an equitable, high-quality health system
through training, research and advocacy in the movement to
end homelessness.
 The national health care for the
homeless council
• 220+ Organizational Members and 4,000+ Individual Members
• Most are from Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) programs that
serve one million homeless people each year from every state
• Headquartered in Nashville, with some staff near D.C.
• Major Programs:
– Training & Technical Assistance
– Research
– Policy Analysis & Advocacy
 PEOPLE EXPERIENCING
HOMELESSNESS ARE MORE AT-RISK
THAN THEY ARE
A RISK
WHAT WE DO TO ADDRESS AN EPIDEMIC
IS WHAT WE SHOULD DO TO PREVENT
FUTURE EPIDEMICS
 THE COVID-19 EPIDEMIC HAS BROUGHT
INTO SHARP RELIEF THE WEAKNESSESS
AND INEQUITIES OF OUR HEALTH AND
HOUSING SYSTEMS
THANK YOU
 Bechara Choucair, MD
Chief Health Officer, Kaiser Permanente

Oversees efforts to integrate social health and health care services to meet the housing, food and transportation
needs of its members.

Accountable for the care of over 1 million Kaiser Permanente Medicaid members and those who are dually
enrolled in Medicaid and Medicare.

Former Chicago Public Health Commissioner (2009 – 2014).

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 COVID-19 is a health crisis for people throughout the world. The growth in cases in the U.S. is putting
tremendous stress on our nation’s health care system and public health departments.
The U.S. currently leads the world in confirmed cases.

By the numbers:
Data as of March 29, 2020 at 12 p.m. ET
Confirmed Cases: 125,313

Deaths: 2,197

Recovered: 2,612

Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count. The New York Times. Accessed 29 March 2020 at 12:30pm ET.
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Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). Accessed 29 March 2020 at 1pm ET.
Our pandemic response success
depends on how well we are
prepared to implement critical
strategies.

C O N TA I N M E N T
First response to any novel
outbreak relies on:
• Quick identification
• Isolation
• Quarantine
• Contact tracing
M I T I G AT I O N
If containment fails, a broad
range of mitigation
strategies must be
employed:
• School / venue closures
• Large event cancelations
• Social distancing for
vulnerable populations
• Shelter in place
SUPRESSION PREVENTION
Once viral transmission is Extensive testing, vaccines
slowed, we resume and, treatments available
containment strategies to to aid the sick and prevent
avoid new surges in cases: future outbreaks.
• Broader testing
• Self-quarantining, if
exposed
• Contact tracing
• Prophylactic treatment
(if possible)

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 The health of our nation and its
unsheltered population are
inseparably linked.

A COVID-19 outbreak among our homeless neighbors will

impact each one of us and the hospitals we rely on to keep us
well.

Even in the absence of COVID-19, homeless individuals are:

2x 2-4x 2-3x
as likely to be as likely to higher risk of
hospitalized require critical death than
care housed
populations

Estimated Emergency and Observational/Quarantine Capacity Need for the US Homeless Population Related to COVID-19 Exposure by County; Projected
Hospitalizations, Intensive Care Units and Mortality. University of Pennsylvania, 25 March 2020.

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 Swift, coordinated action is needed to address
the health needs of our unsheltered neighbors.

• Develop clear guidance and protocols for health care workers, emergency shelter staff, street outreach teams and other providers to
prevent the worst outcomes, assess those who are most vulnerable and ill and treat those suffering.

• Provide immediate, safe shelter for unsheltered populations, isolating people who are symptomatic and incorporating social distancing
into existing emergency shelter and transitional housing settings.

• Increase the volume and frequency of screening for homeless individuals and frontline workers.

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