County officials this week informed people living in two hotels that have served as emergency shelter for at-risk homeless people during the pandemic that they must leave by March 15.
The 72 residents of the Astro Motel near downtown Santa Rosa and the Holiday Inn in Windsor were handed sheets of paper Monday, effectively giving two weeks notice to some of the county’s most vulnerable residents.
County officials changed plans a day later, and on Wednesday evening newly appointed Department of Health Director Tina Rivera told The Press Democrat they would extend the stay at the Windsor hotel to April 15 and offer beds there to Astro residents.
While county health department officials insisted the closures, due to the expiration of federal emergency funding, have been known about for months, the March 15 date surprised and alarmed people staying at the Astro, according to two current residents and the relative of two others.
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