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Play, download and edit the free video Housing is health care COVID Exacerbates Struggle for Homeless in New York.

When COVID-19 hit New York City, people were told to stay at home and practice social distancing, but homeless New Yorkers have nowhere safe to go. Those staying in homeless shelters have a 67% higher mortality rate than New Yorkers citywide, according to Coalition for the Homeless, a direct action and advocacy organization for homeless people. They’ve seen that fears around shelters and the economic impact of the pandemic have contributed to more people needing assistance. “There were so many newly homeless people that there was a big surge in need on the streets,” says Dave Giffen, executive director of Coalition for the Homeless. “We just had to ramp up those operations very quickly. We really would not have been able to do so without the help of Doctors Without Borders, because there were so many needs that we weren't prepared on our own to meet, like the need for showers and toilets and PPE.” MSF helped provide showers, portable toilets, handwashing stations, hygiene kits, clothing, and other essentials for people in Midtown Manhattan and Harlem. Giffen says that COVID-19 has exacerbated some deep systemic problems in New York City housing. “We don't want to go back to normal. Normal was terrible,” he says. “Our only hope now is that seeing how this has played out adds more fuel to the fire to solve these problems on a systemic level.”

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