Sen. Bill Galvano wants the homeless tested for COVID-19. Here’s why that’s important to you

Have you ever stopped to think about all the places the homeless go that you go?

It’s a question Facing Homelessness Bradenton founder Laura Licoski believes everyone should be asking themselves in the face of a hyper contagious pandemic like the novel coronavirus.

It’s also one of several reasons homeless agencies believe testing for COVID-19 in the homeless population should be a priority. It hasn’t been until now.

Florida Senate President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, is working with state health officials to get test kits to Manatee County to begin testing the homeless.

“I was in Bradenton last week and went by the One Stop Center and there were a significant number of folks using the services,” Galvano said Wednesday. “Those numbers have increased due to the COVID-19 situation.”

Turning Points is one of the few places the homeless can still get essential services during the pandemic.

Galvano said he had a discussion with Florida Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz about getting test kits into the Manatee County homeless community, as well as other places.

“He agreed,” Galvano said. “Manatee County just received a rather large shipment and we’ve set aside 100 testing kits for the homeless in Manatee County. My hope is to coordinate with the Department of Health not just to test, but to get the treatment for anyone who needs to be hospitalized if it gets to that level.”

Up until now, the DOH in Manatee County had no formal plans to test the homeless, according to DOH spokesman Christopher Tittel.

Tittel said Manatee County gets the testings kits through the state like every other county.

“Once the state receives specimen collection kits, they divvy up and distribute the kits to counties based on critical need at that point in time,” Tittel said. “DOH Manatee then identifies areas of critical need before determining how the specimen collection kits it receives from the state on behalf of Manatee County are used and distributed to Manatee health care partners.”

No ‘critical need’ to test homeless, until now

Though Turning Points has a medical center, tests have not made their way there.

Until now, the homeless have not been deemed to have critical need for testing, though DOH attends weekly homeless work group meetings. So far, that group has come up with short-term hygiene solutions such as opening up restrooms at public facilities for restricted hours.

Code enforcement officers are stationed at the restrooms to ensure social distancing and cleaning crews are on hand to clean and sanitize them.

“Of course, the group continues to discuss how best to serve the homeless populations during the COVID-19 public health crisis,” Tittel said.

Licoski helped push some of the ideas forward.

“At least it’s a start, but most of these restrooms and even the port-a-lets are only open for certain hours, as well as the hand-washing stations. She said through her discussions with the homeless, finding a place to use the bathroom has been a struggle.

Though hygiene is stressed, it’s not really a reality, Licoski said.

The homeless travel around

“I don’t think people realize on a daily basis just how much the homeless travel around,” Licoski said. “With the libraries shut down, they have nowhere else to go, so there is a lot of traveling going on between here and Sarasota because the bus service is free right now.”

That travel can take the homeless to Riverwalk for a free WiFi spot and convenience and grocery stores.

That makes for “a very big potential for contaminating a lot of people,” Licoski said.

Galvano said he pushed for the testing because, “They are a part of our population and unfortunately have financial challenges, but they deserve the same respect and attention that everyone else receives.”

Galvano agrees that it’s important to do everything to stop the spread.

“When testing anyone in a population, it’s important to have an understanding where the data points are, but also a method to control the spread,” Galvano said. “What I have suggested is we test through the One Stop Center. I explained the capability of our facility to the emergency management director, so I’m going to stay on it and at least get the testing going for the time being.”

For homeless agencies who have been asking for testing within the homeless population, it’s a victory.

“I support Galvano’s recommendations to test the homeless,” Licoski said. “I think it’s a population that is often overlooked on a lot of statistics. We are talking about a COVID-19 virus that affects everyone in Manatee County.”

Licoski said said she hopes testing for antibodies will begin soon, as well.

“I think it would be very interesting to have testing open to all of the homeless in Manatee County so we can have a true number of how many people are affected presently and how many people have been infected in the past,” she said.

Manatee is a hot spot of COVID-19

As of Wednesday, Manatee County has had 567 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 49 deaths.

Galvano said Manatee County has certainly fallen under the watchful eye of the Florida Department of Health as being a hot spot county.

“We also have had had conversations with the state surgeon general, as well as the governor with issues facing Manatee County as a whole,” Galvano said. “Our nursing home situation has spiked so we just have to stay on top of it and Manatee County is a hot spot at this point based off the DOH dashboard.”

Licoski praised Galvano for his leadership on a subject not many politicians want to discuss.

“I think overall, anytime you bring up the subject of homelessness with politicians, everyone is scared to bring up that subject,” she said. “It’s definitely not a popular topic. No one wants voters voting against them in the future. It’s not something people feel is a priority to worry about.”

But in a time where a pandemic is raging, it has to be, Licoski said. She hopes at some point the same emphasis will be placed on the subject of homelessness as a whole.

“You aren’t going to solve homelessness and get people off the street if it’s not going to be addressed once and for all,” she said.

This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 5:00 AM.