Salvation Army campaign brings attention to homeless people affected by coronavirus

The Salvation Army has started a campaign to bring more attention to the homeless during the time of isolation. The campaign features several homeless people while asking the Dutch public to consider how those without residences are supposed to "stay home" during the coronavirus pandemic.

There are an estimated 40 thousand homeless people in the Netherlands, double the amount ten years ago. The nonprofit organization says they provide assistance to about 15 thousand.

The organization set up a quarantine facility In Rotterdam for the homeless that have already contracted coronavirus. Earlier this week they were already giving shelter to ten quarantined individuals.

“Isolation is not quite possible, we try to keep the homeless in their own room, but that is not always possible,” said Salvation Army representative Cornel Vader to NOS. He also spoke of their difficulty trying to keep the beds at least 1.5 meters apart to be within the guidelines set by the government. That has caused a shortage of beds, he said.

The organization is pushing for another 10 thousand homes to be built to house more of the homeless, people the organization said are fully capable of living on their own but do not yet have the means to support themselves.

The Salvation Army also said it was trying to create more partnerships with holiday parks, hotels, and empty gymnasiums to temporarily provide more shelter temporarily.