Coronavirus has caused the already marginalized homeless population to face greater levels of prejudice. With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, life changed suddenly. The quality of life for the estimated 380 homeless people in Monroe County was no exception.

According to Crow, a formerly homeless individual, prejudice has escalated during the pandemic. He says people believe the homeless are more likely to catch and spread COVID-19. “I’d go into the same place I work at now, and I’d be simply using the restroom and trying to get a drink of water, and they’d tell me ‘no, you go away’ just because I looked a certain way”, claimed Crow. While, it is the right of private organizations to do this, Crow implies that this would not have been the case prior to the pandemic.

Crow asked for his full name to be withheld due the prejudice he describes. Due to the loss of his family among other unfortunate incidents, he was rendered homeless. This fall, Crow obtained housing and acquired a job to support himself.

In spite of new difficulties, local organizations are doing their best to accommodate for the new circumstances. At Wheeler Mission, a nondenominational Christian organization providing relief for those experiencing homelessness and drug addiction, they altered many procedures to reflect new needs. According to Josie Rice, Wheeler Mission’s Community Outreach Coordinator, they saw the risks coming and planned early. The organization implemented temperature checks, mandatory wash up, social distancing within the shelter, and added a new tent to maintain their pre-pandemic capacity. Along with the new procedures came other challenges for Wheeler Mission. They lost many volunteers during the pandemic due to capacity limits within the facility. While the demand for housing has stayed relatively the same as prior to the pandemic, a lack of staff has caused problems.

Rice says that in spite of the stereotype that the homeless are more likely to have COVID-19, they have only had one positive client at their shelter the entire pandemic. She says that she would feel more in danger of contracting the virus being around a student at Indiana University than a homeless person.

When local homeless are unable to access local resources, they are often staying at public grounds such as Switchyard Park and Seminary Park. The Bloomington Board of Park Commissioners launched a new “Save the Parks” program on Sept. 1 allotting $50,000 towards medical and personal resources for those at Seminary Park. Among the goals of this program are to encourage social distancing and preventative measures against COVID-19.

Local resources can only do so much to combat stereotypes against the homeless, stereotypes exacerbated during the Coronavirus pandemic. This stigma makes the recovery from homelessness more difficult, stifling opportunities. “I’ve got six or seven friends that are still on the street, either begging for money, or even begging for jobs in this town”, Crow says.