Swine Flu and the Toronto Homeless Special

The swine flu is hitting Ontario hard. How are the homeless faring this season when it comes to the disease? I went to the source, the shelters that deal with the homeless on a daily basis.

There is good news coming from the Scott Mission. Martin Romero who is in the men's shelter division said that he has not seen one person ill with flu like illness. "This week we had a vaccine program where 45 of our clients received the H1N1 vaccine. But for now, I have not seen even one person sick." A worker at Good Shepherd Refuge said that he has not really seen any swine flu. When asked further about the clients he did admit that right now there is a lot of sickness at the center but for the time of the year he believed it was in the normal range. The Good Shepherd Refuge has a nurse that helps take care of their clients medical needs. Director Adrienne Urquhart spoke to me about what she has observed with the clients at Good Shepherd and the practices that the shelter has in place. "We are following the public health guidelines and have a pandemic plan already in place for Good Shepherd." Urquhart added that the shelter has had a flu client for their clients with a vaccine component. "We have hand sanitizers everywhere and are instructing clients to cough into their sleeves." At this time Urquhart agreed with the staffer that the centre has yet to see an increase of disease. They have had clients with cold-like symptoms though. One thing that sets Good Shepherd apart is having a nurse on site 5 days a week and a relationship with Saint Elizabeth's community health care. Their clients most often have access to health services. Good Shepherd is a nightly home to 91 homeless men and serves about 600 people during each day. They see a good cross section of the homeless population at the centre. The Good Neighbour's Club, a drop in centre in downtown Toronto also has yet to see an increase of flu this season. Roy, a support person at the club told me that he's seen perhaps six people who appeared to be sick with a flu bug. The same can not be said at St. Christopher House. A worker at their The Meeting Place who refused to give me her name said that she has seen an increase of illness. What is more startling though is the care the clients are able to get. "The clients aren't able to get outside help. They are being denied service at walk-in clinics in the city." At the Queen Spadina Medical Centre there has been an increase in flu-like illness this year but they have not seen an increase with homeless walk-in patients. The office manager told me that they do not deny anyone with a health card service and in fact are giving the vaccine to those who fit in the priority groups. She also told me that the homeless make up 3 per cent of their clientele.