RICHMOND, Va. -- The City of Richmond will soon offer more shelter options to people who need a warm, safe place to stay. Monday night, Richmond City Council approved plans to expand the city's shelter services.
That means the Salvation Army location off Chamberlayne Avenue will expand its inclement weather shelter's capacity to 150 beds between December and April.
After the colder season ends, 50 of those beds will be available year round.
Another location, at 7 North 2nd Street, will become a year-round shelter with 50 beds, exclusively serving families.
Homeless advocate Rhonda Sneed, with the nonprofit Blessing Warriors, called the expansion of services for the unhoused "a long time coming."
"We’ve been fighting really hard for this," Sneed said. "Last year it was a circus. This year, this is a very great beginning. Families, 50 beds for families. Whereas right now, there are none for these families out here. We have tons of kids out here. They need a secure place to sleep at night."
The need for a year-round shelter came to the forefront in May after a woman experiencing homelessness died across the street from a close inclement weather shelter.
"This is a life or death policy change that the city of Richmond was deliberating last night," Richmond City Councilperson Stephanie Lynch said. “As advocates, it’s even hard to take this moment to celebrate knowing that there are hundreds on the street right now, that there are thousands of families who have been evicted. That there are hundreds of folks, families, and kids, who are sleeping in cars, parking lots, that will go hungry tonight, our work is far from over."
Michael Dutz, who's currently experiencing homelessness, worries about what kind of services will be provided at the newly expanded shelters.
"Which families get an apartment, how do you get medical care, how do you get health care?" he asked during an interview with CBS6. "They talk the talk. Let's see them walk the walk."
When asked how she'd respond to people like Dutz who have concerns about the access to services, Lynch responded by saying this: "The answer is, it's not enough, and our benchmark of success is whether someone who's experiencing a housing crisis, someone who's experiencing homelessness, can get the help they need when they need it."
“Anything you start new, you’re going to have positives, you’re going to have negatives, but together, they work with the organizations out here, and we can make it work. It’s all about working together," Sneed said.
The Salvation Army shelter will likely open at the new capacity in December. The city is planning on creating a housing resource center to assist those in need by January 2024.
The 7 North 2nd Street location is expected to open in May.
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