Philadelphia to close COVID prevention spaces for homeless at 2 hotels this month

The Kenney administration will end so-called COVID-19 “prevention sites” for homeless individuals at two city hotels at the end of the month in a bid to save money as the virus rages in Philadelphia.

Fewer than 160 homeless individuals who remain at the Center City hotels will begin to be transferred to a pair of temporary sites in North Philadelphia and the Hunting Park neighborhood run by community-based providers within about 10 days.

The hotels will cost the city $16 million from when they opened in May through the end of the year, which includes associated costs, like security, meals and cleaning. The sites will be shut down at year’s end when federal coronavirus funding, which pays for them, is exhausted.

Exactly how much money the city will save by ending the prevention sites at the hotels has yet to be determined but the costs of the new facilities would be “significantly lower,” said Kenney administration spokesman Mike Dunn. The rent at the new facilities will be one-sixth of that at the hotels and fewer individuals will require assistance going forward as more are put into long-term housing.

Read more: https://www.phillytrib.com/news/local_news/city-to-close-covid-prevention-spaces-for-homeless-at-2-hotels-this-month/article_33102ba6-63ed-5a21-850b-7fa58d094420.html