The City of Eugene has started mobilizing outreach teams to check on unhoused people this week. The groups offer food, water, and COVID-19 information.
More than a dozen teams of two to four people, have been combing through parks and other areas across the city. One of the goals is to ensure unsheltered individuals aren’t sick with COVID-19 symptoms, said city Public Information Officer Brian Richardson.
“We kind of talk about that, you know, talk to your neighbor. It’s checking in on folks and seeing how they’re doing. Then making sure that they have those right connections, they have the right information about what’s going,” he said.
Richardson added since most service providers have closed or changed their hours it can be difficult for the unhoused to know where they can go and what services they can access. Two respite shelters for the unhoused were recently set up in Eugene and Springfield.
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