Reverend Andy Bales is no stranger to sacrifice.
The 61 year old is in a wheelchair after losing his leg to a flesh eating disease he picked up while working with the homeless in Skid Row, downtown Los Angeles.
“I had a 104F temperature. Blood poisoning throughout my body and my foot had gaping wounds. I never walked again after leaving the hospital, my leg crumbled to the point I had to have it removed,” he told SBS Dateline.
Now the CEO of Union Rescue Mission, one of the largest homeless shelters in the US, Andy is taking his biggest risk yet, preparing for an onslaught of the sick, as the mission and its 180 staff refuse to shut its doors to join the frontline response to COVID-19.
“There are missions around the country who are closing their doors because they're letting fear reign. We're going to continue welcoming guests,” said Andy.
“We're going to distinguish ourselves by keeping our doors open. Even if I have to be the caregiver ... we will welcome people who are sick.”
Andy Bales is the CEO of Union Rescue Mission. Source: Dateline
Determined to keep his shelter’s doors open, Andy has converted the mission’s gymnasium into a makeshift quarantine zone, ready to receive and isolate any homeless who show signs of being sick.
“The biggest priorities have been figuring out the safety precautions, then the food supply. We have air mattresses set up ... we have a team ready to clean up after folks, they have all the PPE gear that we ordered early on.
“But who knows what’s coming? It’s a big challenge.
“We've been through typhus and typhoid and Hepatitis A and, and many other things. But we have never been through a pandemic and a recession at the same time.”
The Union Rescue Mission is located in the heart of Skid Row, a 54-block area in downtown Los Angeles that has become synonymous with sprawling homeless encampments.
While the virus spreads across the country and authorities issue stay at home orders, tens of thousands of Californians have no homes to go to.
“If we say no, we're sending somebody to nowhere and they're two to three times more likely to die on the streets from this pandemic. So our work is more important than ever,” said Andy.
The mission’s response comes after the White House prepared citizens last week for “two weeks of pain”, projecting 100,000 - 240,000 deaths across the country as a result of COVID-19.
In 2019 there were around 58,000 homeless in LA county. Source: Dateline
While the Union Rescue Mission is yet to confirm a case of COVID-19 among the homeless, just last week an employee, a van driver, tested positive. He currently remains in hospital on a ventilator.
The biggest challenge now for Andy is protecting the health and safety of the mission’s staff and residents while maintaining its essential services.
“We've had to allow [staff and volunteers] who are past retirement age 65 plus to stay home because they're at special risks. That lost a lot of our staff members. Many groups because of the risk have dropped out, which is has left us with a skeleton crew of staff and a skeleton crew of volunteers to do more as meals have increased. And so… everybody is spread thin.”
Andy Bales is committed to helping the homeless during the pandemic. Source: Dateline
One-hundred-and-eighty staff members are required to keep the mission functioning day to day.
Across five separate stories, the shelter houses around 1000 men women and children who sleep in separate dorms, often in close quarters. The mission has introduced a head to toe sleeping policy to reduce the risk of infection among those who sleep there.
In the kitchen, staff make more than 3000 meals per day with lunch now spaced over four hours in four different sessions - to allow social distancing and avoid everyone arriving at once.
Ricky was living in his car when he came to Union Rescue Mission with suspected coronavirus. Source: Dateline
‘Past the the tipping point of being able to recover’: LA’s homeless crisis
In California, the coronavirus has collided with the largest homeless population in the United States and the problem is spiralling out of control.
In 2017, around 55,000 people in LA County were counted as homeless, living across shelters or on the street -- in 2019 that total increased to more than 58,000.
“Since 2017 it has only increased exponentially. Especially in the last six months. It seemed like homelessness absolutely exploded,” said Andy.
“Much of Los Angeles actually has encampments like Skid Row. We've gone far past the tipping point of being able to recover.”
Andy says the collision of coronavirus with LA’s homelessness crisis is a perfect storm and the impacts could be catastrophic.
“We were averaging three to four people dying per day without it. That is going to increase.”
'I’d be at the end:' Last hope for homeless who are sick
Sixty-three year-old Reggie Dominguez was the first suspected case of COVID-19 to be quarantined at the Union Rescue Mission.
He came to the Union Rescue Mission after hearing about it on his car’s radio.
“I was parked under a hospital and listening to the radio and I'm, you know, looking pretty hopeless and very sick. If I wouldn't have heard that radio, I don't know what I'd be doing right now. I'd be at the end. It really would be hopeless,” he told SBS Dateline.
Living out of a car, Reggie had been sick for five days suffering through diarrhoea, cold sweats, chills and constant coughing fits. Like many without a fixed address, he struggled to self quarantine and even wash his hands.
Union Rescue Mission will continue to feed the homeless during the coronavirus outbreak. Source: Dateline
“Usually what I do I have a routine where I go to gyms and clean up and then I stay with my family but this time around they shut down everything.”
Aware of the risks of infection and not knowing if he was positive for COVID-19, he was too scared to stay with family.
“My Mum she is 80, so I’m not going to put her at risk especially not knowing if I’m positive.”
After arriving at the Union Rescue Mission, Reggie was placed into quarantine where he received medical care. He was later tested for COVID-19 at a nearby clinic. His results, thankfully, were negative.
