Coronavirus impact: South Bay residents react to hotels being used to protect homeless from COVID-19

Saturday, April 18, 2020
CAMPBELL, Calif. (KGO) -- Governor Newsom announced the state is partnering with the Motel 6 chain, securing hotel rooms at 47 locations in 19 counties to protect the homeless from COVID-19. The governor made the announcement in front a Motel 6 in Campbell, in Santa Clara County.

Directly behind the motel is a neighborhood where Paul and his wife Christa Rumpler live and own Accurate Smog Check, located just a few doors down from the Motel 6.

RELATED: Thousands of hotel rooms secured for California's homeless during COVID-19 crisis, Gov. Newsom announces

The Rumplers along with other neighbors expressed to ABC7 News they wish they would have received warning this was happening.
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"We didn't have any forewarning that this was going to be going down and it was just a little bit of a shock," Paul Rumpler said.

"A friend of mine is going to be checking to see if they have a caseworkers assigned to them, I guess monitoring is my main concern if they're supposed to be there, for a shelter-in-place, is anyone monitoring that they're actually staying inside?," Christa Rumpler said.



Cindy Puma, another neighbor, and has lived in Campbell for over 20 years. She describes the neighborhood as quiet and safe. She hopes it can stay that way.
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"A lot of people are in that situation due to circumstances they just can't control, I would just hope our neighborhood can maintain its peace and quiet," Puma said.

RELATED: Gov. Gavin Newsom says California is in a 'pandemic-induced recession,' creates task force led by Tom Steyer

She hopes that those that do get rooms are prioritized.

"Especially families or single women with children that would really need that sort of help and I would just hope that they are prioritized," Puma said.

She too expressed she wishes they received some kind of warning.



"I know everything is sideways right now and processes are not in place to cover all of the things changing on day-by-day bases but I would've hoped we would have been more warned somehow," Puma said.

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