HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- Henrico County announced Tuesday that it will officially expand its regional effort to help support the homeless population in Richmond.
The decision was made following a vote by the county board of supervisors Tuesday night that approved funding for the new effort.
The board unanimously voted to allocate over $800,000 from the balance of their general fund to two regional homeless service providers.
$565,933 will go toward the Salvation Army and $238,535 will go towards Home Again, according to the county's resolution.
This comes after Richmond asked both Chesterfield and Henrico counties to help fund a quarter of their expanded year-round shelter.
It's a cost the city said comes at an operating price tag of $4 million annually.
“Whatever we can do to get people off the street and inside," said Henrico County Board Chair Tyronne Nelson
The region currently has the highest recorded number of unsheltered people according to Homeward's winter 2024 point-in-time count.
681 people across the region have reported that they were homeless. A majority of that number said that they used shelters, but 206 of those people reported having no roof over their heads, according to the report.
“This is not just the first time we have funded. We have historically funded the emergency shelter at 1900 even when it was operated by catholic charities," a county leader told the board.
The county said they are focusing on outsourcing running shelters that support their residents to partners who have been serving the homeless population as their expertise.
Based on 2023 statistics from homeless nonprofit Homeward, 49% of the region's homeless were last housed in Richmond. 14% were from Henrico, 8% were from Chesterfield, and 16% were from other parts of Virginia. The remaining were not from the state.
“We know they come from all over and so having a more robust initiative in partnership with the city we are supporting two providers of wrap-around services," said a county leader.
Nelson also called on Chesterfield County to come forward and also commit to funding. This was after the county manager said they have so far not agreed to the efforts.
“Hopefully other localities will come along and join us. If Chesterfield can get in then we can have a more regionally robust response," he said.
Hanover County was also offered to join the initiative but declined. A spokesperson for Hanover County said they believe they’re able to meet the needs of the community using the resources available within the county.
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