Warm Room expands and relocates to assist South Lake Tahoe homeless

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless (TCH) as relocated its Warm Room operations to the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Center in order to provide a 24/7 shelter for the most vulnerable residents until at least April 30.

In addition to their expanded operations they have also made the following changes:

● Set up 8 isolation bays for people experiencing non-COVID-19 symptoms.

● Providing 22 private motel rooms for our vulnerable seniors and those experiencing complex underlying health conditions.
● Provided 10 hand-washing kits to unsheltered homeless encampments to help them
adhere to CDC recommendations.

Placerville and the West Slope of El Dorado County do not have the needed facilities to handle their homeless population during this "shelter in place" situation and TCH is providing them with strategic assistance to create a similar
outreach, intake, and placement model.

Five homeless and vulnerable individuals from Placerville did come to South Lake Tahoe to be housed in the agency's motel rooms until they could get similar accommodations on the West Slope. The County's Health & Human Services tested them for COVID-19 prior to their arrival, according to TCH staff.

"We are so thankful to the South Lake Tahoe City Council, Mayor, and Public Works department for providing the Rec. Center to use as an emergency shelter during this crisis," said TCH Executive Director Cheyenne Purrington. "We’d also like to thank the South Lake Tahoe Police and Fire departments, Barton Health and our partner organizations for their assistance. Additionally, we are incredibly thankful for the 20+ volunteers who showed up to help move, unload and set up our emergency shelter. We also had volunteers make and deliver 100 washable fabric masks for our vulnerable clients. At this time we are stronger together and it is the combined efforts of our South Shore community that will help us survive this crisis. We will continue to do our best to provide support."

Please check in regularly with our website https://tahoehomeless.org/ to find out how you can help us to stop the spread.

Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless is a California nonprofit formed by local residents working together to end homelessness on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe. If you would like to learn more about how you can partner with or donate to the Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless, please email info@tahoehomeless.org with any questions or call 530-600-2822.