Why hasnt Kelownas most vulnerable group been adversely impacted by COVID19.
Lucky!
That's how Carmen Rempel at Kelowna's Gospel Mission describes not one single COVID-19 outbreak at the shelter during the pandemic.
"The homeless population, we were social distancing before social distancing was cool. This is a sad reality. Our people are so stigmatized and often live in such shame that people cross on the other side of the street rather than get within 6 feet of our homeless."
Rempel says COVID has been a constant threat over the last 15 months and they have taken incredible measures to mitigate the risks.
"They (homeless) are socially isolated as a community already. Places where we have seen spread are in restaurants. That isn't a place our people often frequent. Places where the virus spreads is inside people's homes. Our people are homeless. They aren't going into people's homes," Rempel added.
