Hotels, Motels Providing Temporary Homeless Shelter In RivCo

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Some Riverside County hotels and motels with vacancies will be providing homeless people — who are at high-risk of serious illness due to coronavirus — with emergency temporary shelter during the current statewide "stay-at-home" order, officials announced Monday.

Eligible unsheltered homeless people include those who are 65 and older, pregnant, have a serious chronic health condition such as heart disease, diabetes, or lung disease, or have a compromised immune system, according to a news release from Riverside University Health System.

Homeless people who are ill or have been diagnosed with COVID-19 will be housed through a different system, officials said.

County officials will work with local homeless providers and hotel and motel sites to identify homeless people who meet the eligibility requirements and to coordinate temporary housing, officials said.

The hotels and motels are located throughout Riverside County, and the temporary housing will be available until the order is lifted, according to officials.

Eligible individuals can be referred to temporary hotel and motel housing by calling the HomeConnect hotline at 800-498-8847. The temporary housing is part of a county program that includes case management, medical and wrap-around services. The program is offered through the Housing Authority of Riverside County.

“These much-needed beds will get our most vulnerable homeless residents into safe housing, because they need the most protection,” said Chairman V. Manuel Perez, Riverside County Fourth District Supervisor. “This will continue to slow and halt the spread of this deadly virus.”

Efforts to identify permanent housing for these individuals are ongoing and will continue alongside the temporary hotel and motel housing, according to the county.

Don't miss the latest coronavirus updates from health and government officials in Riverside County. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters for what you need to know daily.