What 'stay-at-home' looks like for DeKalb County's homeless during coronavirus pandemic

DeKALB – Angie Shaulis is afraid of the coronavirus, not only for herself and her family, but for the homeless, who don’t have a home to stay in during a public health crisis, or work to keep them afloat in an economic one.

Shaulis is the emergency shelter coordinator of Hope Haven of DeKalb County.

“We have never seen this before or anticipated anything like this,” she said. “This last month has been a whirlwind, we have been doing everything we can at our shelter to keep our clients safe and reduce the risk of exposure.”

Hope Haven’s mission is to provide shelter, meals and life skills programs for homeless individuals and families while preparing them for long-term rehousing.

On average, Hope Haven serves 91 people a night at its two locations, its main shelter at 1145 Rushmoore Drive and 965 W. Dresser Court, both in DeKalb. Over the past week, about 70 people have been living at Hope Haven.

“Shelter-at-home looks very different when you don’t have a home or when your home is a shelter,” Shaulis said. “It’s important for everyone to have a safe place to lay down their head, to feel cared for and loved. There’s a component to being homeless that makes you feel alone. At Hope Haven, everyone here is family and free from judgment. We’ll all get through this together.”

Hope Haven’s executive director, Lesly Wicks, said that Hope Haven is “trying to save people’s lives by making sure everyone has a place to stay.”

“Our main goal is to keep our clients safe and healthy, and we’ve been taking every preventative measure we can,” Wicks said. “We have new information daily from the [Center for Disease Control], health departments and the State of Illinois.”

Wicks said that social distancing has been the biggest challenge, especially since most clients spend all day in the shelter.

To protect clients, frequently touched surface areas and door knobs are sanitized every two hours. Colored tape has been used to mark the distance of 6 feet throughout the shelter. A conference room has been converted into an additional dormitory for extra social distancing space.

Before clients or workers enter the building, they are required to wash their hands using a hand-washing station and have their temperature taken.

“Flu often spreads like a wave through the shelter, and we worry about the coronavirus because we help a lot of the at-risk population, the most vulnerable in our community,” Wicks said. “Our clients are homeless, some have medical problems and health issues. We worry that if someone becomes sick with the virus, it will spread like wildfire.”

Wicks said extra safety and sanitation precautions are being taken because “it’s not if, but when the coronavirus will happen.”

“We are making sure we do everything possible to make sure it doesn’t spread,” she said. “Keeping our building clean is so imperative right now.”

To help keep Hope Haven sanitized, donations of cleaning supplies, such as disinfecting sprays, wipes and hand sanitizer are needed.

Wicks said that other items needed are for clients’ entertainment.

“Our clients are taking shelter in the shelter, and like everyone else, they can get restless and have cabin fever,” she said. “Puzzles, games, coloring books, movies, anything can help make their day a little bit better and get rid of anxiety.”

Donations, including cleaning supplies, food and furniture, are accepted daily from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., but donors are asked to call first to make sure there is a need and enough room for items.

Monetary donations can be made online at www.hopehavendekalb.com or mailed to Hope Haven of DeKalb County, 1145 Rushmoore Drive, DeKalb, Illinois 60115.

“It’s easy to feel like you’re on an island with no connections to the outside world,” Wicks said. “Any support or donations we get, we are very, very appreciative.”