I am writing in response to the article published on March 24, “Homeless shelters coping with public health fears.” Amy Timmins, vice-president of community relations at ServiceNet, does go into detail about hand sanitizing, covering coughs, and continuous cleaning of surfaces. But if ServiceNet truly cared about the well being of the community, and their homeless guests, they would keep the shelter open during the day, instead of sending the homeless out into the community. Many homeless guests have compromised immune systems, and should be at home in the shelter resting during the day. You can imagine the shelter as a small nursing home sending vulnerable people out on a daily basis. In addition to this, with closing businesses, the homeless have few places to go to the bathroom. ServiceNet should be more concerned about the public health of this community.
Dorthy Champion
Montague