Guide and considerations for converting university dorms into public shelter

This guide was written by by Laila Fozouni, Emma Hartswick, Michelle Lee, Carolina Jaramillo, Brendan Eappen, Sarah Khorasani and Saki Kitadai, and represents the work of the Student Coalition of Incarcerated Housing Advocates for Greater Boston.

In light of the coronavirus outbreak, the need for dignified and adequate shelter has never been more apparent. There is a desperate need for private and semi-private spaces to shelter unhoused and recently released individuals. Hotel rooms are one important option that must be utilized by cities, but university dorms are another underutilized resource. In this guide, we outline important considerations in order to streamline efforts to convert dorm rooms into public shelter.

Important considerations:

1. Is there a need for additional temporary shelter?

This consideration must be made on a city by city basis, but in most cities, there is a major need for additional shelter. Most shelter spaces are inadequate and limit ability for social distancing and isolation. In Boston, as many as one in three unhoused individuals in currently available shelter have tested positive for coronavirus; all 146 individuals in a single Boston shelter who tested positive were considered to be asymptomatic carriers. San Francisco has seen a major outbreak in their largest homeless shelter. Las Vegas has turned to converting their parking lots into shelter.

This is also a major need for shelter for individuals released from jails and prisons, as efforts are being made to depopulate correctional facilities. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling at the beginning of April has made the release of several hundred individuals possible through special hearings. However, many of these individuals either do not have a safe place to quarantine before moving onto more stable housing or they have no access to stable housing at all.

Furthermore, many temporary shelter spaces that have been opened are only intended to shelter individuals who who have tested positive for COVID 19. One example is the Boston Hope Convention Center with 500 beds allocated for Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program for COVID-19 positive individuals. Individuals will only be able to stay at Boston Hope as long as it is medically necessary, and will be discharged following their quarantine period.

Based on available evidence, the current temporary shelter capacity is inadequate to promote effective social distancing that can mitigate the spread of infection among the unhoused population. Additional spaces — such as dorm rooms and hotel rooms — would be a significant improvement and added resources that would improve the health of unhoused community members and recently released individuals needing a safe place to quarantine.

2. Why should universities be part of the solution to the housing crisis?

Unfortunately, our nation has failed to provide stable and adequate housing for a significant portion of its population, and this has culminated into an urgent, unignorable crisis in the wake of the coronavirus. We acknowledge that the solutions that we propose are temporary, and we emphasize that creating long-term sustainable solutions must be our ultimate goal. However, failure to take immediate, temporary measures will jeopardize the lives of the most vulnerable in our communities. This responsibility should fall on the shoulders of our political and governing institutions.

However, large universities, which have benefited significantly from the communities which house them and have contributed to worsening gentrification and displacement in these communities, must play a role as well. We do not propose that these universities shoulder the burden of independently addressing the long-standing societal failure to provide stable and adequate housing. Instead, we bring attention to the fact that most universities currently have dorms and hotel rooms which are largely empty, and offering these spaces will be instrumental in efforts to reduce the spread of coronavirus in our communities.

Utilizing these spaces does not shift the responsibility of finding long term and sustainable solutions from the public sphere; rather, it asserts the importance of institutions to work with local governments to give back to the communities that house them. Universities currently have a unique resource of empty, semi-private or private spaces, and there is an urgent need for such spaces. While philanthropic giving can also play a role in alleviating the harm to vulnerable populations, the most impactful resource that universities can offer in these unprecedented times is emergency temporary housing; such action will make a difference today, when it is desperately needed.

3. How much temporary shelter could universities feasibly offer?

It is true that while universities have transitioned all of their academic work online, many universities have not fully vacated their dormitories. It is important to consider two factors:

1. Are there any fully vacated buildings?
2. How many occupants remain in each open building?

While some students and resident staff remain on campus, most, if not all universities have dramatically reduced their capacity. In almost all universities, there are enough empty rooms to consolidate students and create fully vacant buildings that could shelter unhoused non-university affiliated folks. Many universities have already relocated students to streamline operations during reduced staffing, leaving fully vacant spaces. Just as measures have been put in place to protect the health of students and staff that remain in campus housing, vacant buildings could be filled to a lower capacity than what the dorms typically accommodate, to facilitate social distancing.

Universities could offer enough spaces to significantly increase the temporary shelter capacity without disrupting housing for students and staff that remain on campus, and measures — such as limited occupancy — could be taken to ensure that dorm spaces effectively promote social distancing and prevent the spread of infection.

4. What if students are unable to be moved?

Some universities have dorm RA’s who have lived in their suite for many years, and some have families with young children living with them. We also acknowledge that moving in the midst of the outbreak may cause anxiety and distress for individuals who perceive housing instability. We do not minimize these very legitimate needs and concerns. By no means do we hope to solve housing instability for some by creating it for others.

We see several possible solutions to this difficult problem. First, the majority of RA’s would not be displaced if only one or two dorm buildings were opened. Universities could prioritize choosing buildings that have RA’s who are willing or able to move. Proctors without families could also temporarily move into a separate empty suite or dorm room, without needing to fully vacate their room, until the crisis is over.

However, if there proves no way to effectively open one or two buildings without significantly impacting the lives of proctors inhabiting those buildings, we suggest that those universities work with their communities to advocate for opening of hotels, as many universities own hotels themselves.

5. Are dormitories adequate spaces for facilitating social distancing?

Infection experts and homelessness advocates may raise valid concerns about whether dormitories are adequate spaces for facilitating social distancing, noting that a major reason that universities sent their students home was to prevent the spread of infection through shared living environments. When converting dorms into shelter for community members, it is important to prioritize dorm spaces that minimize use of shared spaces, specifically paying attention to:

1. Shared rooms
2. Shared restrooms
3. Shared entrances
4. Width of hallways

However, it is also important to consider what the alternatives are for unhoused city residents. Even if dorm spaces may not facilitate the ability to perfectly socially distance, they are still far better than the available alternatives. For instance, there are currently few if any emergency options that actually give unhoused individual access to private restrooms, with the exception of hotel rooms. Most temporary shelter spaces, including existing homeless shelters and the newly opened War Memorial in Cambridge, also feature an open floor plan with cots a maximum of 6 feet apart, and with no barriers between cots. In the pursuit of temporary shelter for unhoused residents, we must not let perfect be the enemy of good. Semi-private dorm rooms and private hotel rooms remain far superior to most available options.

Though dorm and hotel rooms are not perfect spaces for social distancing, they are the best available option for unhoused community members. Additionally most universities have ample suite style housing that could be prioritized for use as temporary shelter. Additionally, measures such as filling dorms below their usual capacity and capping the number of residents per bathroom could further promote distancing and prevent the spread of COVID 19.

6. What happens if universities need to reclaim these rooms in future?

It is currently unclear when universities will plan to reopen. Several universities have already canceled in person activities through September 2020, and there have been some reports suggesting that campuses may remain closed until 2021. Regardless of the ultimate decision, there is an urgency to de-densifying shelters today, given the large number of asymptomatic carriers and the high prevalence of infection among unhoused individuals.

Dorms and hotel rooms remain important spaces that are significantly underutilized. As discussions regarding the timeline for universities reopening are ongoing, universities should strongly consider opening their doors to shelter unhoused community members. The need for increased shelter capacity is immediate, while the prospect of universities reopening is still theoretical. If the decision is made to reopen universities in the coming months, the city, universities, and community organizations will have ample time to plan and work together to find alternative spaces to relocate shelter folks.

7. Who will be prioritized to inhabit these spaces?

Universities can work with the city and local community organizations to discuss the need to potentially prioritize certain groups, including

1. Higher risk individuals (i.e. older adults or individuals with multiple comorbidities)
2. Families
3. Recently released people, in coordination with efforts to de-densify jails and prisons
4. Pregnant individuals

Universities should coordinate with state and local government agencies and community organizations to determine what prioritization system — if any — would be most feasible, safe, and impactful.

8. Who will be responsible for coordinating and maintaining temporary shelter?

Universities and their staff are understandably busy with the logistics of transition to online learning environments and academic work, and their priorities are directed towards the needs of their faculty, staff and student bodies. We do not expect that universities have the capacity or expertise to coordinate or maintain temporary shelter spaces, or to serve as homelessness service providers.

However, universities do possess the scarce and valuable resources of safe, vacant shelter spaces, and the lack of coordination capacity should not serve as a barrier to opening dorm and hotel rooms to unhoused community members. Suffolk University has already successfully partnered with the Boston Public Health Commission and staff of local homelessness services organizations to assume responsibility for the day-to-day logistics of maintaining temporary shelter. Other universities can easily build these partnerships with local organizations (would be great to insert suggestions if we have any) that would be responsible for the maintenance of the physical space, as well as ensuring the safety, health, and basic needs of residents of temporary shelter.

9. How to ensure staff who operationalize these spaces are protected?

Low income individuals and people of color disproportionately carry the burden of being front-line workers in the coronavirus pandemic. While unemployment has jumped astronomically and identifying new employment opportunities is important for the well-being of our communities, it is also critical to ensure that individuals who will staff operationalized dorm spaces are adequately protected. All staff must be guaranteed sufficient personal protective equipment, per CDC recommendations, to ensure their health and the health of their families. Hazard pay must be provided to all staff. The city must work with institutions and community organizations who will staff these operations to ensure that these criteria are met and respected.

10. Screening for COVID-19 before entering dorms or hotel rooms?

For the safety of temporary shelter residents and staff, every person must be tested prior to being moved into the dorms or hotel rooms. Testing should be paid for by the city as identifying asymptomatic individuals who may transmit infection is an essential public health responsibility. Temporary shelter residents should be encouraged to wear non medical grade face masks, as recommended by the CDC, to prevent self inoculation with the virus.

11. Screening for new symptoms?

Student volunteers or community volunteers should do regular screenings of dorm or hotel guests, including questionnaires about COVID-19 symptoms and measuring temperatures. This can include daily, room to room screenings, as well as screenings of individuals returning to the building from being outside. Informational posters could be posted on walls to inform guests about potential symptoms to encourage self reporting.

If an individual screens positive for symptoms, they should be moved immediately to a designated floor or area for isolation, while awaiting more definitive testing. This floor or area should still ensure adequate social distancing between individuals to minimize risk of transmission between residents on this floor. Individuals moved to this floor should be placed in isolation and receive consultation with a nurse or other medical professional, with consideration of transfer to a facility specific for COVID positive individuals, such as the Boston Hope Convention Center. Such a protocol — including volunteer screening, medical consultation, and transfer — has already successfully been implemented at the Suffolk University dorms for several weeks.

Specific Logistical Questions:

12. Security

Per university policies, weapons and drugs will be prohibited from these spaces. There will need to be hired security in order to screen individuals who enter the buildings to ensure that these rules are followed. Organizations that operationalize the dorms or hotels can provide this directly or contract with security companies. This contract system is already in place at Boston Hope Convention Center and at other homelessness service sites.

13. Substance Use

The realities of addiction and substance use pose important concerns and challenges, but they are not insurmountable. Overdose prevention in dorms and hotel rooms must be a key priority. Universities may choose to prioritize individuals without active substance use to minimize risks, although this will raise equity issues for individuals struggling with addiction. They can also choose to screen individuals for substances during security checks to minimize risk of substance use in the dorm or hotel spaces. Additionally, partner organizations that operationalize temporary shelter may be chosen with attention to their experience working specifically with individuals with substance use disorders, or additional partnerships can be made with organizations that specialize in harm reduction. Programs and sites should adopt written policies and procedures around harm reduction, staff training, and bathroom management in cooperation with experienced local organizations.

Per recommendations from community organizations providing care for individuals with substance use disorders, additional safety measures can help manage shelter spaces. Narcan should be easily accessible, visible, and stocks should be assessed regularly.

14. Food

Universities should work with city and local organizations to identify sources of funding for meals provided at dorms and hotels. Important considerations include making sure that meals are individually packed to minimize interaction between residents.

15. Supplying basic necessities, including linens and toiletries

While hotels already offer many of these items, dorms will need to acquire linens, towels, and toiletries for guests. Universities can rely on city funding or philanthropy to ensure that residents are provided these basic necessities.

16. Medication management

If the decision is made to prioritize individuals with high medical risk, many of these residents will likely be on multiple medications. Many unhoused individuals are able to manage their own medications, but may need assistance obtaining their medications after relocating to shelter that may be distant from their home pharmacy and care providers. At Boston Hope Convention Center, BHCHP facilitates delivery of home medications for unhoused patients, and the vast majority are able to self administer home medicines. Some residents with high medical risk may need assistance with their medications. Universities can consider having a nurse on site or on-call to help manage medications for more medically complex residents. This system has been successful at the Suffolk University dorms, where onsite staff from the public health commision and local shelters can pose medical questions to a previously determined oncall medical provider.

17. Costs of potential damages

Universities are experiencing financial hardship during this time. Costs associated with potential damages to any rooms pose a potential barrier impacting the willingness of universities to open their spaces. Universities should work with cities to identify a fair strategy for distributing the burden of cost. Potential groups that could bear these costs include the city or state, philanthropic organizations, or universities themselves. Operationalizing organizations should take responsibility for ensuring the safety of spaces and respect for property, but should not be asked to assume financial burden from any damages.

18. Liability

Clear and fair delineation of liability should be predetermined between the university providing space and the operationalizing organization(s), however, these agreements should not hinder the process of opening temporary shelter. Informed consent should be obtained from residents of temporary shelters about the amount of protection that can be feasibly guaranteed under the circumstances. It is important to note that in a typical apartment building or hotel, each individual is responsible for their own safety, though measures — such as security personnel — may be in place to increase the safety of the environment. At most existing shelters, individual residents are responsible for their own personal property and physical safety, though security measures (such as screening for and removing weapons) also exist. Local shelters will be important partners in producing guidelines for safety and agreements about liability between residents, operationalizing organizations, and the university.