Queens Conversations: COVID - Who Helps the Homeless

Stay home! That's one of the recommendations we hear to help us combat the Coronavirus. But what if you don’t have a home? Over 70,000 people in New York City are homeless, according to some estimates. That’s more than the population of Schenectady, 10th largest city in our state. For a myriad of reasons, these people live on the streets, in shelters or transitional housing. Some are victims of domestic violence or suffer from untreated mental illness. Others are homeless due to the economic collapse or eviction. Nevertheless, this pandemic attacks them with the same ferocity as it does everyone else. The crucial difference is the frequent inability of homeless people to protect themselves and receive adequate treatment. This episode of Queens Conversations deals with their situation as the virus continues to spread and medical help remains difficult to find for the city’s disadvantaged.

We’ll be talking with Cara Ochsenreiter, Program Director of Breaking Ground's Street to Home Outreach and Queens Drop-In Center, Michael Fahy, Administrator of Saratoga Family Residence and Misbah Awan, a homeless student.

Watch and listen to QPTV for issues of impact to our Queens Community! Our live show airs on Thursdays at 3 p.m. on Spectrum channels 34 or 1995 (HD), on Verizon channel 34, and on RCN channel 82. We're on the internet at QPTV.org, and we’re also streaming the show Live on Facebook, where you can submit your questions during the show. https://www.facebook.com/queenspublictelevision/