YOUNGSTOWN - Youngstown's shelter for the homeless is announcing procedures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, including suspending drop-off of donations.

The Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley released a statement on Thursday saying that it is only allowing homeless clients and staff to enter the facility.

To avoid the spread of germs, the Mission is asking that the community cease dropping off used donations to the shelter until further notice.

The Mission will continue to provide meals three times daily to the public. Instead of offering seated meals to our public guests (those not staying with us overnight), all public meals will be in offered in a "To Go" format and will be available outside of the shelter during regularly scheduled meal times.

Additionally, until April 13, 2020, all volunteers, donors, and other visitors will not be allowed to enter the facility and are asked to call the Mission during regular business hours to reschedule their planned activities.

The Mission will continue to receive new homeless clients. People who are experiencing homelessness must go through a two-step screening process to determine if they are candidates for receiving overnight shelter at the Mission.

Step 1 - Phone Interview – Potential clients are asked to call the Rescue Mission Monday – Friday between 9 am and 4 pm at 330-744-5485 for the over the phone screening. No walk-in interviews will be conducted. The purpose of this call is for Mission leadership to determine if a person is in a critical situation or may have other temporary options for shelter. Additionally, the goal of the call is to determine if the potential client is experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms (headache, sore throat, fever, cough, or shortness of breath) and direct them to seek medical attention if they have any of these symptoms instead of presenting at the Mission.

Step 2 - In-person Interview – For those who progress past the initial phone interview, they will be scheduled an appointment at the Mission where their temperature reading will be conducted upon arrival at the shelter. Anyone with a temperature of 100.4 degrees (following CDC guidelines) or over and are observed with any of the following COVID-19 symptoms (headache, sore throat, fever, cough, or shortness of breath) will be directed to seek medical attention and will not be admitted as a client. Clients who are determined to be in emergency status and free of symptoms will be offered overnight shelter, pending availability.

Hourly cleaning and disinfecting are taking place throughout the Mission. Additionally, reminder announcements explaining proper hygiene techniques and messaging about social distancing practices are being shared with clients.