MyHouse sets up 8 emergency beds for youth homeless in case of COVID-19 exposure

WASILLA — MyHouse, the Valley’s sole source for homeless youth support, recently added eight emergency cots for COVID-19 patients under the age of 25, should the need arise.

“They need a place to heal or wait out the quarantine period,” MyHouse founder and Executive Director Michelle Overstreet said.

MyHouse recently gained approval from the fire marshall for the cots to offer emergency shelter for up to eight youth community members under 25 who are either homeless or in transition.

“It’s a really tricky deal because you don’t to put people who are potentially positive into transitional housing and you also don’t want to send them back on the street where they can infect other people,” Overstreet said. “So, we have to have housing that can provide a holding space for people who are waiting for test results to come back.”

The eight cots are there to serve as a safe and supervised space for anyone who needs to wait on test results, heal from infection, or avoid contact with household members who’re either infected or potentially exposed.

“My hope is that we don’t have to use the emergency beds,” Overstreet said.

If the need arises and clients start using the cots, MyHouse will direct them to additional housing based on their situation. They’ve partnered with Family Promise Mat-Su and those who haven’t tested positive can go to their holding area.

“We’re on the front lines and continuing to go forward,” Overstreet said.

Overstreet said the eight cots are at the main office but they’re applying for grants to find separate transitional housing units for potentially exposed clients so it’s away from the drop-in center, mitigating further infection.

In the meantime, she urges the public to follow social distancing guidelines.

“Everybody stay home so we can make this go away as fast as we can,” Overstreet said.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com. Support local journalism. By subscribing you help local journalism continue to thrive. For our latest digital subscription information, see frontiersman.com/site/forms/subscription_services/