There are many people whose missions don’t stop during a pandemic, and among them is an Alexandria, Virginia, doctor who treats the homeless in shelters and on the streets at night.
Demand for Dr. William Mazzella鈥檚 services has been up since 海角社区app first brought you his story in February. But now, his work is increasingly solitary.
“As far as street care, I don鈥檛 really feel comfortable having anyone else with me right now due to all the unknowns from coronavirus,鈥� Mazzella said.
He鈥檚 using personal protective equipment, depending on its availability.
“Gloves have been in OK supply. Hand sanitizer is getting scarce and hard to get a hold of, and so are masks,” he said.
Shelter residents have become much more diligent about hand washing, keeping a distance from one another and not coughing into the air, Mazzella said.
He urged people to humanize the homeless, especially now.
“They鈥檙e socially distanced already,” Mazzella said.
Though financial support for his nonprofit, , is appreciated, he said, members of the public can also help on their own, by creating their own bags of hand sanitizer, tissues and food to give out.
It sends the message: “‘Hand sanitizer’s hard to come by and here鈥檚 a little bit of it,'” Mazzella said. 鈥淐learly, you care.”
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