Officials offer COVID vaccine to Thunder Bay homeless as isolation shelter use surges

Organizations serving homeless people in Thunder Bay, Ont., have begun offering them vaccinations against COVID-19.

Vaccine clinics began last week for people who are homeless, and so far, uptake has been "really great," said Juanita Lawson, the chief executive officer with Norwest Community Health Centres.

"There is a limitation in terms of the vaccinations that are available at some of the clinics that we've held," Lawson said. "They are all being used, and they are all going to the right people who need to be protected, and there's no waste."

Officials are offering the vaccine to homeless people in accordance with the provincial vaccine framework, which calls for prioritizing vulnerable populations, she said.

She was not able to say how many people have received the vaccine so far.

Red Cross sends workers to help staff isolation shelter

The Thunder Bay District Health Unit declared a COVID-19 outbreak within the city's homeless population on Feb. 10, and demand for the city's isolation shelter is at an all-time high.

A hundred and nine people stayed in the shelter on Feb. 24, using a total of 90 rooms, said Bill Bradica, the chief administrative officer of the Thunder Bay District Social Services Administration Board.

Prior to February, people typically used fewer than 20 rooms a night.

That surge in demand left St. Joseph's Care Group clamouring to adequately staff the shelter, according to Tracy Buckler, the president and CEO of the organization.

Around 10 Red Cross workers flew in from out of town to contribute to the effort, Buckler said.

Local organizations have also shared the workload.

Job postings coming soon

"Because it ramped up so quickly, we've been getting staff from other places by goodwill and begging," she said.

"To be able to ramp this up so quickly, it's really the work of the frontline staff across the organizations and at St. Joseph's Care Group that I cannot thank enough."

St. Joe's aims to have at least two staff people in each area of the shelter 24 hours a day, Buckler said, and it's been touch-and-go at times, but someone has always come through.

The organization is planning to post temporary jobs in the coming days, as it anticipates needing extra staff for several months, she added.

"It will be a variety for sure," she said of the types of positions that will be made available, "from people needing to go and pick up supplies or bring food to health professionals, be it nurses or social workers or addiction crisis workers."

The number of people using the isolation shelter began to plateau last week, Bradica said, but he remains concerned about the sudden spike.

"It's concerning because there are people in either an unsheltered or precariously housed situation that have to rely on this type of situation rather than a permanent housing situation," he said. "And hence our, I guess, continued advocacy for the need for more permanent housing."