Homelessness is a prevalent issue in Los Angeles and has only gotten worse with COVID-19. Many nonprofits and shelters have had to stop providing services due to social distancing and Los Angeles County COVID guidelines. One homeless shelter— called Trojan Shelter— though it is not officially affiliated with USC remains open. Olivia Rae Hernandez has the story.
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The co-president of Trojan shelter Hannah Mulroe says, worrying about homelessness and balancing school is a heartbreaking reality for many.
“Being a student is stressful enough, Being a student experiencing homelessness is exponentially more stressful. And then being a student experiencing homelessness in a pandemic is unimaginable and there’s a lot of added pressure and time.”
The Trojan Shelter is located in St.Mary’s Episocpcal in Koreatown. It opened about a year ago and is a “haven for homeless college students”. It serves students in LA community colleges and four years in the East LA area. Cara Esposito, an Adjunct Professor at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy.
“The Trojan shelter started by ABBY and ESTHER who took my class.. Lewis who’s the founder of the Bruin Shelter came and spoke in my class and at that point they decided they wanted to open a shelter on the EastSide of LA for students”
Esposito helped the founders figure out how to run with this idea and build a non-profit from the ground up. Wheneven now at this difficult time USC housing has shut down, Trojan Shelter remains open.
“I’m really proud of them that they decided no matter what they were still going to open… they decided and they were right that they’re serving a need and those three kids are in a much better place than if the shelter wasn’t open, but it’s really hard.”
The shelter has adapted and reshaped the way it functions Christina Yuan, director of Operations of the Trojan Shelter, explained. They even hired two RA’s who would’ve had other responsibilities in dormitories to help manage this new style of the shelter.
"It’s basic stuff like six feet of social distancing and then we reorganized the entire shelter to practice this so all the beds have been spaced out.. Each person has their own desk.. "
Along with these guidelines, the Trojan Shelter explains how residents also must take their temperature and follow a symptom tracker.
"They are required to wear their face masks when they are within six feet of the other person… if they are experiencing symptoms we know right away and we have created an isolation space and quarantine plan in case someone does feel sick. "
Trojan Shelter has hired two extra RA’s and still has over 30 volunteers and have received an outpour of generosity from private donations. They’re making a huge difference in the lives of the students who are there and the need of such a place is constant and growing.
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Additional reporting from Annie Wei