Former resident of Louisville halfway house says 'everyone' showing symptoms of COVID-19

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Health officials on Tuesday reported 29 more coronavirus cases as part of the ongoing outbreak in two state-funded halfway houses in Louisville.

The update brings the total number of positive cases at Community Transitional Services and Dismas Charities St. Ann Reentry Center to 135 combined in the past two weeks.

The new cases come from a second round of testing at CTS, located near 15th and Jefferson. A spokesperson from the Metro Louisville Department of Health and Wellness said the reentry center now has 97 positive cases.

Two-thirds of the state-assigned offenders in both facilities are positive for COVID-19, including Jacqueline Maiden's son, 38-year old James Thomas.

"He is so sick," Maiden said. "I'm terrified for him, because he is in a basement full of mildew and mold with 100 guys. I'm terrified for them all."

Officials with the Kentucky Department of Corrections say COVID-19 patients at CTS are housed on a separate floors, with food and medications brought to them. Common areas have been shut down, and the amount of cleaning has increased.

Similar precautions are in place at the Dismas Charities St. Ann reentry center, located off Algonquin Parkway. The facility has had 35 residents and three employees test positive for the virus, according to health officials.

Both reentry centers house state-funded substance abuse programs. Courts assign inmates, parolees and those on probation for the last six months of their sentence. It's an attempt to rehabilitate them from crimes driven by addiction.

Chris Helson said he left St. Ann on Sept. 1 after completing the program, but house mangers didn't want him to leave.

Chris Helson, former resident of Dismas Charities' St. Ann halfway house.

"They wanted me to wait for 14 days for my results," Helson said. "I knew if I stuck around, as bad as things were in there, I would inevitably catch COVID-19 ... it was impossible to social distance. Our beds are literally 3 feet from one another. We use the same doors, the same bathrooms."

People crowded windows last week when a WDRB News crew visited the facility. Some were not wearing masks. Others were holding up signs asking for help.

Dismas Charities officials said they isolate positive cases on their own floor, have plenty of personal protective equipment and COVID-19 protocols in place, but not everyone follows the rules.

"When folks outright defy you and you don't have ways to restrict or confine their behavior, it's a real challenge," said Ray Weis, president and CEO of Dismas Charities.

Helson said offenders for months have been writing to state corrections officials about their concerns at the halfway house.

"You could see when they'd bring these new guys in from jail to the so-called 'quarantine room," he said. "That's where all the sickness began in the house, and it just slowly trickled down from the next dorm to the next dorm to the next dorm, until basically everyone was showing symptoms. My concern is for the guys still there with underlying health conditions."

On the run

Reentry centers have little to no security. Offenders routinely walk out, abscond or leave without finishing the program. Punishment varies depending on the offenders status when they leave. Most will have warrants issued for them, and some could be charged with escape.

According to a spokesperson for the Kentucky Department of Corrections six individuals who tested positive at CTS have absconded as of Tuesday: Two are unaccounted for, and warrants have been requested. Three are accounted for and are working with their parole officers to get back into compliance. One has died, but COVID-19 is not a contributing factor. The Department of Corrections has not responded to WDRB's requested for more information on this case.

Three individuals who tested positive and one person whose test was inconclusive at St. Ann have absconded as of Tuesday. Two people are accounted for and are working with their officers to get back into compliance. One person (Helson) served out and was eligible to be released but was asked by the health department to stay and quarantine but did not.

"They said 'absconded,' but I was completely within my legal realm to leave," Helson said. "I've quarantined at home."

A warrant has been requested for the individual who absconded from St. Ann whose test was inconclusive.

The Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness also has the option to seek court orders to require isolation, but leaders say the department has not taken those steps.

"Right now, we don't even have the capacity to be able to even call everyone that is a case, so that's what my team is focusing on," said Dr. Sarah Moyer, Louisville's chief health strategist.

It's unclear whether those who left and have not been found are in the streets, isolating or spreading the coronavirus in the community.

Corrections officials said the agency has temporarily stopped assigning offenders to both facilities.

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