When Boston Mayor Marty Walsh ordered a city-wide shutdown in mid-March due to the escalating COVID-19 pandemic, residents holed up indoors and the streets quickly emptied, except for nearly 6,000 houseless residents who suddenly faced exposure to the virus in overcrowded temporary housing.

To learn more about the crisis, the Scope’s reporters and Northeastern journalism students Avery Bleichfeld, Susanna Maize, Asher Rappaport and Ananya Sankar talked to houseless residents, social work expert, city officials and the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, which provides healthcare for houseless individuals and families in the Boston area.