Each day, the night shelter in Findel hosts 150 people. The yearly winter action was due to end on Tuesday 31 March, but following an announcement by Minister for Family Affairs Corinne Cahen it has, for now, been extended until the end of April.
Questions arise as to how they implement 'social distancing' and where the homeless spend their time during the day.
The fact not all 250 beds and nine dorms are currently being made use of come in especially handy considering the extraordinary current circumstances.
Coordinator of the winter action Stephanie Sorvillo says they try to leave out one bed between each person and to have the smallest amount of people possible in each dorm room. Some of the dorms are relatively small and the aim is to not have more than 15 people in each room.
In case of a suspected Coronavirus infection, those in question have the possibility to isolate themselves in two of the smaller dorms, after which point the Red Cross will take over.
According to Cahen, they have a room, dedicated to those that have fallen ill, where they can be looked after and put under quarantine.
The extension of the winter action ensures the homeless will have a place to sleep until at least the end of April. From 1. April, the shelter will also remain open during the day.
The Bonnevoie shelter will then close during the day, so that there is less movement between the two locations, enabling the homeless to also stay in one place.
However, they cannot lock anyone in, and it is challenging to find things for them to do all day.
Donations of old laptops or computers will be happily accepted, for instance.
It is also critical to avoid having too many people in one place. Stephanie Sorvelli suggests a simple solution: opening hotels for the homeless. She says 50% of them have no issues - they are young, healthy and don't look for trouble, it's just that they have nowhere to live. Hotels would be ideal, as this would also give them access to TV's and internet. This would enable them to stay at home, and give the winter action staff more time to dedicate to those who really need more attention and support.
Sorvelli highlights they have been doing their part in raising awareness about the virus among the homeless. She also says they urgently need protective masks, and they could also use a professional thermometer to be able to keep an eye on people's temperature. This would allow them to test the 120-150 people wanting to come into the shelter much faster.
Report in Luxembourgish.
