Anxiety runs high among people on the streets after a stay-home order is issued in the wake of coronavirus
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Portland’s houseless communities are grappling with uncertainty and misinformation on many fronts.
Street Roots asked people living at Portland area homeless shelters and camps how their communities are processing the spread of COVID-19.
Some are wary of contracting the virus, but many fear the pandemic might be used to further criminalize their existence.
Racheal Dulaney, a 32-year-old woman who’s been living at Right 2 Dream Too, worries that, under Gov. Kate Brown’s stay-home order issued Monday, she could be arrested for huddling with other people at night to stay warm or for accepting a hug from her brother.
While Brown’s order offered little guidance or clarity for people experiencing homelessness and those that serve them, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler stated during a press conference Tuesday that the order also applies to people who are houseless.
“There are a lot of rumors about martial law and social distancing,” said DJ Husar, when asked how people at Portland Rescue Mission, where he is staying, are reacting to the pandemic.
Dulaney echoed this rumor. “People are really afraid that there will be martial law and everyone will be rounded up,” she said.
Several people said rumors are that President Donald Trump will use the pandemic as an excuse to arrest all homeless people.
There are also widespread conspiracy theories speculating that COVID-19 is a hoax, an idea that’s gained popularity because many people experiencing homelessness are observing that no one they know has contracted the illness.
“If this is such a concern, where are all the sick people?” asked DWD, a 48-year-old man who sleeps outside on the sidewalks in Portland’s Pearl District. “Most people think it’s pretty fucking ridiculous at this point,” he said of Oregon’s social distancing measures.
“There is concern that it might be a government thing,” he said. “Conspiracy theorists — there are those that think it has to do with government running exercises.”
According to emerging research , many people infected with the virus do not show symptoms.
Street Roots, which has continued operating in a limited capacity in order to provide essential services, has seen an uptick in mental health crises brought on by fears related to the pandemic.
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Rainbow Stief, who lives in a tent outside of Tigard, has been helping Street Roots staff keep the number of people inside the office at a minimum.
“I’ve been getting a lot of negative feedback,” she said. Many people say no one who is homeless is sick, so social distancing measures should not be implemented, or that the government is making it all up.”
Street Roots, along with other organizations including Portland Street Medicine, has been conducting outreach to Portland’s many homeless encampments in order to get accurate information to the vulnerable populations that live there.
Raven Drake, who leads the Street Roots Coronavirus Action Team, said she thinks her team’s efforts are paying off.
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“In the initial week or so, there was a lot of misinformation,” Drake said, “but because of us and a lot of other groups that have been going out, week after week, the information has gotten more concise. As we go back into camps, people are more informed about what it really is. It’s been quite a big effort from a lot of organizations.”
It’s important to note conspiracy theories about the novel coronavirus pandemic reach far beyond Portland’s homeless populations and have prompted FEMA to create a webpage titled “Coronavirus Rumor Control.”
Email Senior Staff Reporter Emily Green at emily@streetroots.org . Follow her on Twitter @greenwrites .
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