Homeless people with COVID-19 who have been discharged from hospitals in New York City have a place to stay thanks to AIDS nonprofit Housing Works. The group is managing two COVID-19 shelters specifically for these clients, reports the New York Post.

The shelters are located in hotels, but the locations are not being disclosed for reasons of privacy and safety. One shelter offers 150 beds, the second can house 100 people.

Housing Works fights the dual epidemics of HIV and homelessness; it worked with the city’s Department of Social Services to launch the new shelters. Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, which primarily serves the city’s LGBT population, joined the effort to provide medical care for homeless New Yorkers dealing with COVID-19.

Housing Works CEO Charles King told the Post that he was concerned that homeless people with COVID-19 wouldn’t be allowed to stay in regular shelters. In that sense, he saw links between the early AIDS epidemic and the coronavirus pandemic (the new coronavirus causes the potentially lethal respiratory disease COVID-19).

Housing Works, which sprang from activist group ACT UP in 1990, is responding to COVID-19 in other ways. Though staff and volunteers are encouraged to stay home, the nonprofit’s clinics remain open. Visit HousingWorks.org for more details.

To learn more about the fascinating backstory of the HIV nonprofit, check out “Making HIV History and Housing [SLIDESHOW].”

Go to poz.com/tag/coronavirus for our continuing coverage of COVID-19.