Identifying the impact of COVID-19 isolation practices on persons experiencing homelessness with concurrent disorders

Aim: This research examines the impact of the COVID-19 virus on the delivery of services to persons experiencing homelessness with concurrent disorders (PEHCD) in Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Subject and methods:The focus on the research involves the identification of changes of service delivery to PEHCD resulting from COVID-19 isolation protocols.The research is based on mixed methods, which involved a survey and semi-structured interviews.The data were collected during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic using virtual technology. Results:The results show that service provision was significantly and negatively impacted by COVID-19.However, the adaption of services and interagency cooperation allowed for rearrangement of service provision to PEHCD. Conclusion:The results from this pilot project informed the development of an expanded project to communities across British Columbia with large PEHCD populations, which in turn will inform policy development for service delivery during pandemics and other broad scale emergencies.