Springs Rescue Mission see 140% increase of daytime services amid coronavirus

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- On Wednesday night, the Springs Rescue Mission announced it has seen a sharp spike of people using its services, specifically during the daytime.

The number of people seeking their services went from 150 people to 360 between Tuesday and Wednesday.

With such a dramatic increase, the shelter is finding it difficult to maintain federal social distancing guidelines, including standing six feet apart and maintaining groups to under 10 people.

"It is really a challenge, and these are things we are trying to manage our best but if we know that we closed down, where would individuals go?," said Chief Development Officer at the Springs Rescue mission.

Cameron Moix, the Content Marketing Coordinator for the mission, said the increase is coming from businesses, nonprofits and government agencies closing down due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

As a result, several buildings that typically only used at night were opened up so people using daytime services could spread out if wanted.

Last week, KRDO looked into how the mission kept their facilities clean and asked those experiencing homelessness if they were worried about the virus.

Six people who showed some symptoms have been tested for the Coronavirus, but their results haven't come back.

Williams said, "we serve a very vulnerable population with many health needs and concerns so we've been playing it very cautiously so anything that does seem remotely like it could be COVID, we are sending them to the hospital.

For now, the mission says there is no reason to believe they have been exposed, but in an abundance of caution, they were sent to the hospital and will remain there until their test results come back.

In the meantime, extra sanitations have been added to facilities, and the staff is increasing, "the frequency of cleaning and disinfecting."

The mission is only using their staff to maintain the overflow and having volunteers stay at home, and have non-essential staff work remotely.