LUBBOCK, Texas – The Salvation Army and other homeless shelters in Lubbock have reported zero cases of the coronavirus.
“I don’t think we need to let our guard down,” said Erica Hitt, Social Services Director for the Salvation Army. “I’m very thankful we have zero, we have not seen one case of COVID-19 but again we shouldn’t let our guard down.”
Hitt said they currently have 91 residents and that they’re following CDC standards to make sure their residents stay safe.
“We have upped on our cleaning schedules,” she said. “So basically every three hours, it is their duty whether anyone has been in an area or not, we have got to keep it clean on a regular basis.”
Hitt said even though they haven’t had a case come up, they have four isolation quarantine units that will be able to hold eight people in the event a resident contracts the virus.
Noah Culberson, a resident at Salvation Army, said social distancing can be a challenge at the shelter but that he’s wearing his mask and using sanitizer more frequently.
He said the pandemic has made it more difficult to get things in order.
“It’s definitely trying, trying to get at job because almost all businesses except the essentials are closed so no one is really hiring right now,” he said. “It’s a little bit difficult. Hopefully everything will be back to normal soon.”
Lori Doyle is also a resident at Salvation Army, and she said she hopes the city will get back to normal soon so she can once again gather with her community.
“I am clean and sober 15 months and I really miss having AA meetings,” she said “I’ve searched out on zoom they have some meetings online but it’s different.”
