In trying to reduce risks associated with the coronavirus pandemic, many people are practicing social distancing or self-isolating at home. For medical professionals and other hospital and clinic workers (including, for example, janitors), however, isolating away from high-risk areas is simply not realistic. Now, thanks to some community-focused creative thinking that turned into a Facebook group, some health care workers are being offered RVs to isolate in after leaving the hospital. At least one nurse, however, reports having a hard time in her own community, claiming her homeowners' association is threatening up to $1,000 in fines over her RV.
First, let’s start with the positive: As reported by CNN, a Facebook group called “RVs for MDs” has thousands of members ready to help peers in need. Health care workers who are worried about coming home and exposing vulnerable family members, like people with compromised immune systems or older folks, are matched with unoccupied RVs, campers, and trailers. After joining the group, people post their location and need, and owners volunteer their resources.
"We're going to keep it running until there's not one person left on the planet that needs an RV or needs shelter," Emily Phillips, one of the creators of the group, said as reported by CNN. "Whatever the case is, we'll have this organization for the next crisis because there's always going to be a need for shelter,” she added.
“You can't put a price tag on this,” Kelsey Webb, who donated her family’s trailer for an ER doctor’s use during the pandemic, told the outlet. “It just makes my heart happy that we're able to do this for them and give them peace of mind."
Similarly, a nonprofit in Colorado is offering RVs and campers to health care workers who need to isolate, for free.
Unfortunately, keeping a mobile home on-site isn’t working well for everyone, according to a nurse in Florida. Sarah Lynch, a clinical nurse coordinator who is currently working from home, told News 4 Jax she wanted to park her family’s RV in their driveway in case someone needed to isolate in it because of the virus. Lynch said: “We figured the HOA would be more lenient as the community is all pulling together.” As Lynch told the local outlet, however, that wasn’t the case.
As Lynch explained, after the camper had been in her driveway for a few days, she and her husband noticed a note from the homeowners association. The note, according to Lynch, said she would be charged up to $1,000 in fines (at $100 per day) unless they moved it.
“The time will come when I will probably need to isolate myself,” Lynch, who says she is now keeping the RV off-site because of the fine risk, told the outlet, adding that the board didn’t seem “concerned about our health concerns or our jobs as essential personnel.”
If you’re trying to practice social distancing, make sure to check out tips on how to combat loneliness, as well as virtual things to do while at home. Have you noticed efforts to provide extra care or resources to first responders (including everyone from medical workers to grocery store employees) in your community?