Written by Teddy Slosberg.

While researching West Work’s hotel conversion projects for transitional housing for the homeless, I found myself digging deep into the myriad of potential solutions for homelessness and how the hotel-to-housing model fits within that. For more information on this topic, I interviewed Juann Khoory, the chair of the Shelter and Homelessness Roundtable for the Boston Society of Architects. Juann works with architects to help organize talks around homelessness to educate the industry on the work being done within that field and how architects can help. When I asked Juann how the idea of converting hotels into housing came up, she told me that it arose out of necessity. The first hotels being converted, both in Boston and around the US, were used as emergency shelters during the pandemic. In order to safely prevent COVID-19 transmission within homeless shelters, people were housed in separate rooms within hotels. Not surprisingly, the people in the hotel rooms ended up vastly preferring these separate rooms to the traditional shared occupancy in the shelters. The idea to convert the hotels into full-time housing came out of a desire from the residents to not have to leave where they had been housed during the pandemic and be able to keep a separate room.

The first hotels being converted, both in Boston and around the US, were used as emergency shelters during the pandemic. In order to safely prevent COVID-19 transmission within homeless shelters, people were housed in separate rooms within hotels.

Juann and I spoke about the difficulties of the shelter system and how stressful emergency housing assistance can be for the people being served. “The institutional feeling of the shelter contributes to people’s feelings of discomfort within the space. For safety reasons, personal belongings may have to be confiscated. Showers are communal, and residents at the shelter are heavily monitored.” These components are necessary to ensure the safety of everyone involved, but these rules can have dehumanizing effects. Given the stressful situation every resident is going through, additional difficulties caused by the restrictive nature of traditional shelters can be a real hurdle to overcome. Juann shared an anecdote from a homeless woman who avoids specific shelters because of their requirement that all guests must use the open shower.

Additionally, the structure of the housing system can impede a person’s ability to receive the care being offered. Another problem Juann mentioned pertains to the wide variety of systems that all seek to treat homeless people. A talk given in the Shelter and Homelessness Roundtable, Homeless Shelter Typology, documents some of the options available. Some shelters have strict curfew requirements, while others do not. Some shelters require some form of identification document, which can be difficult or impossible to obtain depending on an individual’s situation. Some shelters are operated by the State, while others are run by charities and private organizations. Such conflicting systems and rules can easily confuse people, particularly when they are in a distressed state. This leads to many falling through the cracks and being unaware of the help they could receive.

West Work’s hotel-to-housing projects focus on transitional housing.  Motel and hotel rooms tend to be efficiently laid out for easy conversion into single-occupancy apartments. By housing people in safe, separate rooms, they may be able to worry less about their possessions and shelter regulations and be able to spend more time on their mental health and other needs. As opposed to the institutional feel of the shelters, residents can personalize and make their spaces their own, fostering a sense of belonging within the community.

However, this model is not perfect. One consistent issue Juann mentioned with these types of housing projects is finding staff to maintain the buildings or provide resources to residents. According to Juann, about 70% of homeless people who went to the hotels faced difficulty getting appropriate care to improve their addiction and mental illness, among other health issues. In addition, several of the converted sites are located on busy transit strips, which aren’t sufficiently walkable to amenities, and few residents have cars or bikes. It is also arguable that navigating the transitional housing system, frequently run by non-profits, adds complexity rather than simplification to the housing system. From the perspective of a homeless person, they are yet another option in a sea of systems that they must apply to receive housing. However, in the absence of government-guaranteed housing, these mission-driven programs may offer the best options available for delivering safe shelter and services to the homeless. The benefits of being in one’s own space are promising, both to the residents and to those working to solve this problem, and going forward, it will be one key component in the fight against homelessness.