Boston Works To Protect Vulnerable Homeless Population From Coronavirus
BOSTON (CBS) -- Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced Sunday that the city had secured hundreds of new beds for the homeless in order to promote social distancing and slow the spread of coronavirus. The move comes after a homeless resident was diagnosed with coronavirus last week.
"These additional beds will ease the burden on our shelters as they practice physical distancing and they will provide more safe spaces for homeless individuals to safely quarantine," Walsh said.
A vacant former hospital on Comm. Ave. in Brighton will provide 70 beds. The developer who owns the site has helped upgrade the building and said it could be ready in days.
"Look, this is an unprecedented crisis and one that we wanted to respond to in whatever way we could," said developer Stephen Davis. "We had an abandoned asset that was a former hospital. It seemed like it might be something the City could use so when we approached them and they said it would be suitable for some needs we were thrilled to be able to really enter in this partnership with the City."
Boston officials are also planning to repurpose an old dorm at Suffolk University which will provide 172 beds.
Walsh also announced a facility at Suffolk Downs in East Boston to test first responders for coronavirus is up and running.
