Imagine sleeping in a mass shelter with hundreds of other people. It might be too hot or cold, or the mattress might be uncomfortable. That’s the reality facing people staying Central Arizona Shelter Services. And a new study there aims to improve sleep.
No one is at their best when they have a terrible night of sleep, according to Dr. Heather Ross, an assistant professor at Arizona State University's Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation. She and her team interviewed clients at CASS.
"And what they told us is that they generally don't sleep well," she said.
Ross says they’re using sound mitigation equipment in one of the dorms that houses between 40 and 60 clients. They’re also surveying them before the machine goes on.
"And then we're going to resurvey women in that dorm afterwards with the same survey questions, to see, did it make a difference if we can do what we are referring to as ‘modifying the soundscape," Ross said.
Ross says if a person can sleep well, they’ll be in a better position to do the complex work of navigating out of homelessness.
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In January, one of the first emergency shelters for seniors opened its doors. The goal was to get older clients settled into permanent housing within 90 days. Now that first group who moved in are approaching that 90-day mark. -
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For more than a year, CASS, the state’s largest mass shelter, has been screening older clients for possible dementia or mild cognitive impairment. Starting this week, researchers will look at what happens when that person gets out of mass shelter and into a private space. -
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