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TDRC Media Releases |
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March 31,
2003 For Immediate Release
“We
have to Just last week an Inspection Team, primarily composed of medical experts, heard evidence of the conditions in the hostel system from homeless people. A common theme of their testimony was the extreme crowding they faced. Last winter, not only Norwalk Virus but parasites and bedbugs invaded the hostel system. This year an inquest into the death of a homeless person who died of tuberculosis will be held. Homeless people are forced to gather in groups of hundreds in the hostel system and also in the day shelters (drop-in centres). Many are malnourished and immunosuppresed and diseases are very opportunistic. They can not only infect but may kill a number of people. Added to this scenario is the forced movement of people from shelter to shelter both in the day and at night, seeking both food and shelter. All levels of government must prepare an emergency response in the case where SARS or other diseases such as a virulent influenza might enter this vulnerable population. For years health workers have warned of these problems and now officials must prepare with an emergency plan. “While we prepare an emergency strategy, i.e. that would include more hostels to reduce crowding, and a response that reduces movement between shelters, we also need all levels of government to invest monies into an affordable housing program. Even the best of hostel systems will still produce serious threats to health such as the one we now face”, says Beric German, health promotion worker at Street Health. For more information, contact TDRC at tdrc@tdrc.net -30- |