The last standing typhoon shelter closed early this month, but the work isn't over.  Government officials with the Interagency on Homelessness are giving a glimpse into what more needs to be done. As the three-month benchmark approaches since Typhoon Mawar impacted many on the island, what does the overview and outcome of typhoon shelters look like now? 

The American Red Cross manning three shelters - Guam PAC Center, iLearn Academy, and the most recent to close, at the Astumbo Gymnasium, servicing 829 individuals in total.   Rob San Agustin, director of the office of homelessness assistance and poverty prevention, told KUAM News, “For the total for the whole from the typhoon to now, including the GDOE shelters, there was a total 2,491 individuals that were in each of those shelters. That might be a little bit overstated because as the shelters consolidated, they counted towards a roaster for that shelter–so, the more accurate one for Red Cross might be 829 individuals at their three shelters.” 

San Agustin says during both iLearn and Astumbo shelters operation, OHAPP and the Guam Homeless Coalition mobilized to do casework to connect households to services for a month-long span.  “One day a week with Behavioral Health, Manelu, OHAPP, GHURA, and we just tried to make sure that our services were there to assist Red Cross and FEMA teams there that they didn’t exactly know what the Guam community had available for them," he said.

But now that all shelters are officially closed, San Agustin says OHAPP, along with other agencies, is working on the final two cases from the Astumbo location. 

In the meantime, the executive director of the Guam Housing Urban Renewal Authority, Liz Napoli, says that of the shelters they assisted at iLearn and Astumbo, 13 families with minor children applied to be on the waitlist for the Family Unification Program vouchers, with 7 applicants from iLearn and 6 from Astumbo. 

She adds that the 13 families are inclusive of the 56 active applicants on the waitlist, as GHURA awaits to be awarded for more funding for Family Unification vouchers.