As the coronavirus continues its sweep across the Puget Sound, Kitsap County officials are setting up two sites to serve as recovery centers in preparation for the virus making its way into the homeless community.

The two facilities — the Pilgrim Firs Camp in Port Orchard and the Seabeck Conference Center — are designed to shelter people who are homeless, those who live with vulnerable roommates and others who are unable to isolate themselves if they become sick. Both centers will not only isolate people ill with COVID-19, but also quarantine people who are awaiting test results.

“We’re really focused on trying to help the hospital maintain their beds so if you don’t have a place to go you're not at the hospital,” Kitsap County Human Services Director Doug Washburn said in an interview. “You’re not taking a room there if you don't need hospital-level care and you're not on the streets potentially infecting other people with the virus.”

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to escalate across the United States, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kitsap County rose to 27 on Wednesday. There have been no confirmed deaths from the illness in Kitsap thus far.

Kitsap’s recovery centers are expected to open by next week, but when the first guests arrive depends on the virus’ spread and the community’s need, said Kitsap County Department of Emergency Management Director Lis Klute. “I’m hoping we don’t have to use any of it at all,” she said.

Male residents will be placed at Pilgrim Firs, while females and families go to the Seabeck Conference Center. In addition, Pilgrim Firs will have a separate space for first-responders and health care workers, who are more likely to come into contact with coronavirus.

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Between both sites, the centers have the capacity to house about 150 to 200 people in total, county officials said. “We do have options for expanding the capacity if we need,” Klute said, which likely involves finding other host facilities. She says a tent or open field facility is not under consideration.

People who are quarantined or isolated at the centers will be referred by a healthcare provider. The centers are not intended for people in nursing homes or those with severe complications in need of hospital care.

While county officials expect people will go to the centers voluntarily, those who refuse could be involuntarily detained under the order of Kitsap Public Health Officer Susan Turner. Under the county’s emergency plan, they would be placed at the Kitsap Juvenile Detention Center in Port Orchard.

The recovery centers, along with a slate of other emergency housing measures, are funded by nearly $700,000 in state dollars passed down to Kitsap County. Last week, the Washington State Department of Commerce announced $30 million in grants for counties to expand shelters, increase sanitation and establish isolation facilities.

At a cost of around $100 per person, per day, the recovery centers will provide lodging, laundry and meals for guests, Washburn said. They will be staffed by camp and conference center employees, volunteers and paid security, as well as health care workers on-site and virtually.

Both facilities are contracted through May, but that could be shortened or extended based on the pandemic’s trajectory in Kitsap.

Expanded shelter space

In addition to the new isolation centers, Kitsap officials have used the pool of emergency housing funding to expand overnight homeless shelters and open daytime operations, in effect providing 24/7 spaces for homeless residents to stay inside and social distance.

“We're trying to get it so people don’t have to be out there in the streets,” Washburn said. “We should be able to get everyone spread out and indoors.”

In downtown Bremerton, the Salvation Army will continue running its winter homeless shelter indefinitely and open a space for people to remain at during the day. The winter shelter typically shuts down at the end of March.

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The Kitsap Rescue Mission, the other low-barrier shelter in Bremerton, will move its overnight shelter and dayroom to the Kitsap County Fairgrounds Pavilion temporarily. Shelter staff are working on the move this week, with plans to transition guests to the larger space over the weekend.

For months, the Kitsap Rescue Mission had been running its overnight shelter out of the Salvation Army building, while maintaining its day room at its own building just down the road. But with limited space at its current building, the transition to East Bremerton will allow the Kitsap Rescue Mission to shelter more people while spacing out beds and ensuring guests are social-distancing.

“We need a bigger facility than what we have there at the mission in order to practice good social-distancing,” said Nancy Olsten, KRM executive director. Even so, she says it is going to take work for guests to limit interactions with one another, like sharing food, cigarettes or drinks.

As both shelters expand their operations, the idea is to split up the more than 100 people who frequent the Salvation Army and the Kitsap Rescue Mission to follow public health guidelines and prevent a mass outbreak. Both sites will start at around 50 people each, with the capacity to go up to around 65 while maintaining social-distancing.

The nonprofits are taking into consideration which shelter guests prefer to stay at, as well as one other person they want to be around. “I think it’s great. I think it gives us more space to social-distance everyone,” said Salvation Army Captain Dana Walters. “We're not just randomly splitting people up.”

There will also be a new temporary shelter in Poulsbo, where city officials are working with the Gateway Fellowship church to set up an overnight and daytime space for North Kitsap residents. That’s also expected to open in early April.

The church's day room has capacity for about 15 to 20 people, while the overnight shelter has space for around 10, according to Kimberly Hendrickson, the city of Poulsbo's Housing, Health and Human Services manager. People will be referred to the shelter by first responders and medical personnel.

While the church is hosting the shelter, it will be staff by a mix of church volunteers and other community members. “It will be a community effort not just a church effort,” said Dave Fischer, an associate pastor at the church.

Kitsap County has also purchased about 10 portable handwash stations that will be placed in key locations for people who are homeless, including several homeless shelters. The county emergency management team is working on getting more personal protective gear, especially for those working at the isolation centers.

At a health district meeting last week, Bremerton Mayor Greg Wheeler praised the Salvation Army for its willingness to step up to help. “They are at ground zero. If there is going to be a breakout it's going to be these folks who are triaging as untrained health professionals in our homeless shelter,” he said.

“I cannot imagine right now closing a shelter… and sending people out into a pandemic in this environment unsheltered,” Wheeler said.

Washington coronavirus cases by county

Our Data Central page includes an interactive map that tracks confirmed COVID-19 cases, recoveries, and deaths from around the state, nation, and world.

The map is updated automatically and shows a closeup of each Washington county.

Or, zoom out to see numbers from around the nation and the world.

(Not seeing the map? Click here to get to our interactive Data Central page.)

Austen Macalus is the Kitsap Sun's social services reporter — covering health care, homelessness and how programs are serving those in need. He can be reached at austen.macalus@kitsapsun.com or 360-536-6423.

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