Last month, LACDMH staff were invited by the nonprofit Los Angeles Poverty Department to visit its “Welcome to the COVID Hotel” exhibition in Downtown Los Angeles. Through artwork, recorded interviews and discussions, “Welcome to the COVID Hotel” highlights the unique challenges and opportunities to provide healthcare services to the homeless community during the lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly to persons experiencing homelessness in quarantine & isolation sites throughout the County.

Multiple LACDMH staff were interviewed as part of this project, and they shared their experiences on how they adapted to the evolving situation and collaborated with other agencies and care providers to ensure clients’ safety and wellbeing. They and others also shared lessons learned and new opportunities that arose from this time – such as the recently formed Interim Housing Outreach Project in partnership with the Departments of Health Services and Public Health to better serve clients and support providers at shelters, motels, tiny homes, and other interim settings.

“Welcome to the COVID Hotel” will be on display at the Skid Row History Museum & Archive through December 14, 2024. For more information about the exhibition, visit the Los Angeles Poverty Department’s website.