Homeless individuals are now being tested for the COVID-19 virus by Harris Health System through its Health Care for the Homeless Program thanks to nearly $1.3 million in federal grants awarded to Harris Health.
“It’s important that we focus our efforts on testing the homeless during this pandemic because this population is particularly susceptible to contracting the virus,” says Tracey Burdine, director, Health Care for the Homeless, Harris Health.
Testing has occurred at homeless shelters—Lord of the Streets and Open Door Mission—and will include all nine Harris Health homeless shelter clinics located across Harris County, says Nelson Gonzalez, grants project manager, Health Care for the Homeless Program, Harris Health.
For this reason, Harris Health is taking testing to homeless encampments and large homeless gatherings like the one under Interstate 69 in downtown Houston across from Star of Hope Men’s Development Center and Minute Maid Park.
The federal grants awarded to Harris Health come from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to provide homeless individuals with physical exams, treatments and medications, as well as psychiatric care to help them cope with their diagnosis and quarantine.
