COVID taking toll on providers ability to help the homeless
Eileen Qiu
BOSTON Wintertime usually signals the holiday season filled with gifts, laughter and joy against a snowy background, but for over the 18,000 homeless people in Massachusetts, winter is a time of struggling to survive with new challenges brought by the pandemic.
Data from the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless states there were around 3,000 families in the Massachusetts Emergency Assistance Shelter program in 2020.
Shelters around the greater Boston area are trying their best to keep up with the demand for a safe and warm place.
Michael Cochran is the director of the Cambridge Warming Center. First opened in April, the center serves around 30 people a day, about half of what the space used to hold before COVID, Cochran said. The beds are first-come, first-served, but they’ll do their best to accommodate all visitors and collaborate with other shelters around the area to find people space. Guests hav