Homeless booted from Paseo while there's still no solid plan to house them

The island's homeless that have been sheltering at the Paseo in Hagatna are being told to move out. Plans to house them during the COVID crisis have been talked about for months, but nothing has materialized.

Fifty-six-year-old Florencia Cepeda has been homeless for nine months, but three months ago she came to Paseo when she got word that the government was going to open a shelter.

"I don't know where to go," she told KUAM News. 

In tears, she said she was told just today along with the dozens of other homeless people like 67-year-old Peter Marriot to get out of Paseo by the end of the day.

"Not much of a notice it leaves us with no hope," he said. "We don't know where to go."

Hopeless and homeless Marriot and his roommate were kicked out of their home by their landlord since March. He's been living at Paseo since then.

"This is my first experience being homeless," he said. "It's really a hard life. I hope they're eyes open and do something for us."

As we reported the initial plan was to have a homeless tent shelter at the Paseo, complete with catered meals and wifi. But after word from the feds, plans changed to instead move toward securing a hardened shelter, Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio had said. 


"We had to amend our plans four times already to try and meet the kind of situation going on right now I would just tell you honestly we're still working we're behind schedule this is one area," he said. "We, I don't feel that we're ahead yet."

Tenorio said active procurement is underway and hopes to have a better answer by Monday. Unfortunately for the homeless at Paseo they don't have that kind of time.


"I have a disability and I feel neglected in ways of getting us into a safe haven shelter where... so we don't catch the virus instead we are left behind," Cepeda said.