Taking care of South Lake Tahoe homeless during adverse conditions

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - While most people can go inside to get a reprieve from the smoke filling the Lake Tahoe Basin, there is a population that cannot - the homeless.

The Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless (TCH) has been working to assist this population of vulnerable people. They have been providing information and protection to these unsheltered individuals at their offices and their team members have been doing outreach in known encampments.

Information being provided includes Caldor Fire updates, evacuation plans, transportation and shelter options. They have also been handing out N95 masks donated by the Barton Foundation.

The main office at The Red Lodge remains open for individuals to access additional resources such as showers, restrooms, clothing, first aid supplies, toiletries, food, and emergency evacuation plans.

In addition to unsheltered outreach, TCH teams currently provide housing to 65 individuals with significant medical conditions, making them especially vulnerable to both hazardous smoke as well as COVID-19. Each of them has received N95 masks, and has a custom evacuation plan to ensure continuity of care and medication in the event of a transfer out of the basin. They also provide daily updates so that clients can receive current information and communicate any needs or concerns to case management teams.

"We also continue to receive emergency medical respite referrals from Barton, including individuals who are COVID-positive, in order to provide quarantine accommodations including food, medication, and supply deliveries to prevent community spread, said TCH Executive Director Cheyenne Purrington. "To date since the beginning of the pandemic, we have not observed any instances of disease spread between our clients or staff, which is a strong testament to our protocols working well."

TCH works closely with local partners, including the City of South Lake Tahoe, SLTPD, SLTFD, Barton, Marshall, and El Dorado County.

"We participate in daily calls with the Homeless Crisis Response team to share and receive updated information, make plans for evacuation and shelter, and offer services to vulnerable community members," said Purrington. "We’re prepared to provide up to 100 seats on busses leaving from our Red Lodge location in the event of an expanded evacuation warning or order for our area.'

The Red Lodge is located at 1137 Emerald Bay Road in South Lake Tahoe. Their phone number is 530.600.2822