As coronavirus took hold earlier this year, states across the world began to lockdown. We were told at various points, across multiple geographies, to protect ourselves and others by staying at home and practising physical distancing. And throughout the outbreak, the importance of these measures for infection control has become markedly ever clearer. 

What has also become evident is the overwhelming and sometimes insurmountable difficulties that social distancing and shelter-in-place orders pose for some. This is especially so for rough sleepers, many of whom have nowhere to shelter in the first place. Yet challenges also arise for those housed, but whose accommodation lacks the safety that most would associate with a home.

These people may thus fall under broader definitions of the term ‘homeless’ and include:     

> those experiencing domestic violence, whose ‘home’ may be a place of exacerbated danger in the context of shelter-in-place orders compelling people to stay indoors, or    

> those living in hostels, refuges or informal housing/encampments (typically confined living spaces that are conducive to disease transmission) 

Such circumstances force us to recognise that, in real terms, shelter represents more than merely having a roof over one’s head. The COVID-19 response has shown us that shelter is actually about having a place of safety – safety from the elements outside, safety from violence and, crucially, safety from ill-health.