The COVID-19 Housing Office has been operating seven days per week (8am to 10:30pm) since March 2020, with office staff working on-call shifts from 10:30pm to 8am. The office is responsible for housing students who test positive for COVID-19.
We began our interview with CT Hall Office Manager Maen Adileh telling us about the fast-paced nature of the office. He explains that, often, they need to house multiple students at once and make sure students do not cross paths while also assisting each other in a timely fashion. While they normally get a notification to expect a student about an hour before they arrive, sometimes, he says, they have less than 10 minutes to get everything in place for a student. This means, making sure students have all the supplies that they need, including health kits, food from Yale Dining that meets any dietary needs the student has, and any other special requests. All of this is done while ensuring that everyone involved is complying with the Yale, EHS, and CDC COVID-19 safety guidelines, including safe drop-off of supplies and cleaning protocols. Newer measures have been adopted to aid in the effort to make students feel comfortable and a little less “isolated” in isolation housing. A special delivery table was added outside on Old Campus for students who want to order food from a local New Haven spot. The office staff has a system for coordinating these deliveries that they share with the students in housing. The office staff meets deliveries at Phelps Gate, drops food off at the delivery table, and lets the students know their food has arrived after they get back to CT Hall so that delivery is 100% contactless for the student. One example of a simple process and gesture to allow students the comfort of familiar New Haven food while having to isolate.
Maen says, “We try our best to make the students feel that they are welcomed and that we are able to assist them in any way they need. We are always happy to go the extra mile.” When talking about the procedures YC&E has adopted Maen adds, “YC&E, in general, did a great job coordinating different aspects of this complicated process, especially in times of need. They stayed on top of everything and made sure that we had protocols to ensure the safety of Yale students as well as members of our team, here, at the office throughout the entire pandemic.” Maen recounts that, in the beginning, living with the uncertainty of the pandemic was one of the hardest parts of running this office.
The housing office has also managed to stay open during all types of inclement weather so they could continue to provide students in isolation with the support they need to recover. One day, the office had to close early due to a snowstorm, the office closed at noon with guidance from Yale Health and Maen personally stayed until a last-minute student was able to make it through the snow to check-in.
Maen added that since this office is one of the very few open around the clock on Yale’s campus, they often get phone calls from students that are not related to isolation housing. Due to this, all office staff are prepared to offer any assistance they can in any situation.
