RICHMOND, Va. -- The City of Richmond continues to face delays in opening all four planned inclement weather shelters to serve people without homes, as the city has only opened two so far.
With an arctic blast bringing dangerously cold temperatures to the region this weekend, the delays are leading some city leaders to express grave concerns.
On Friday night, as temperatures dip into the single digits, 23-year-old Jayden will take comfort at the city's cold weather shelter on Hull Street, which is run by the non-profit RVA Sister's Keeper.
It's a resource Jayden described as lifesaving.
“I’m absolutely thankful because, without them, I wouldn’t have anywhere to go," she said. "I thank them a lot because, without them, we would be freezing, we would be cold."
Jayden said she's been struggling financially for about a year ever since her mother passed away. But with a roof temporarily over her head, she said it'll give her some time to get her ducks in a row and apply for jobs.
“It’s somewhere that you're safe and you're warm and you have somewhere to eat, and you have drinks, clothes, whatever you need," Jayden said. "They help with case managers, they help you find housing, they try to get you phones."
Aside from the Hull Street location, which serves women and their children, the city has opened one more temporary shelter behind the United Nations Church on Wall Street, which serves men. They'll be in operation for 24 hours daily between now and Monday as temperatures remain below freezing.
Combined, the two shelters have 100 beds which were all full as of Friday evening. Recent data from the non-profit Homeward shows that on any given night in the region, about 450 people don't have a home.
“I feel like if they had more of them open, a lot more people who are out on the street could really use that. They could really use more shelters like this," Jayden said.
For months, the city said it would have four shelters open by now but has failed to open the other two shelters mostly due to delays in behind-the-scenes negotiations and contracts.
So, one of those shelters located on Chamberlayne Avenue, which will be operated by Commonwealth Catholic Charities (CCC), opened anyway without support from the city. Instead, CCC said it relied on donations from private partners.
“Sadly, despite our best efforts, we have yet to secure a contract with the City of Richmond to operate its inclement weather shelter,” said Jay Brown, the organization's CEO. “With cold weather and freezing temperatures upon us, we have decided to push ahead with the shelter so that we can care for our most vulnerable neighbors this Christmas.”
The contract with the city, once finalized, will secure a total of $1.3 million for CCC to operate the facility, a city official said.
Brown said the emergency shelter will remain open through January 5. Currently, it has a capacity of 30 beds, but CCC hopes to expand to 60 beds next week.
The opening of the fourth shelter located at 5th Street Baptist Church will also likely be delayed until January, according to a city official.
Richmond Councilwoman Stephanie Lynch, whose 5th District includes both of the currently-operating shelters, has consistently expressed frustration with ongoing delays to get all shelters up and running across the city.
"For individuals experiencing homelessness, all the red tape, all of the bureaucracy, all the causes for this delay do not matter to them. The fact is that we do not have enough capacity, and we've known that we don't have enough capacity," Lynch said. "The sense of urgency and the moral responsibility around who is to care for our most vulnerable populations needs to take the highest priority."
Her worries are only escalating as she feared people will be turned away from shelters that are already at capacity and forced to spend the night on the streets amid an arctic blast.
"If they cannot make it to the ER, if they cannot get sheltered elsewhere, this is life or death. It's life-threatening," Lynch said.
To avoid similar problems in the future, Lynch said she continues to push for a permanent year-round shelter that could serve those in need at short notice. She's hopeful an investment of $1 million from the city into homelessness services will go to that end.
"That is on the horizon, but it's not here, and that's not helping us for the 'right now,'" Lynch said. "And that is what is absolutely heartbreaking."
A spokesperson for the city, Petula Burks, said city officials hope to have a contract finalized with CCC as soon as possible. However, a timeline is unclear.
"The city remains committed to working with CCC. We are currently working through the final terms of the contract and look forward to CCC and the City’s partnership to help our most vulnerable," Burks said.
She added the city recently directed $1 million to groups that serve the homeless population which would include CCC.
"It takes all of us working together to ensure the safety and well-being of our unhoused residents," Burks said.
Once all is said and done, the city will have awarded more than $4.4 million to fund the four inclement weather shelters across Richmond which will include a total of 190 beds when fully operational.
The city asks those in need to check the capacity of shelters daily by calling 804-840-7095.
Additionally, a warming center will open at Richmond City Hall on Christmas Eve and Christmas from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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