Richmond leaders say access to homeless services is 'broken,' but there are no plans to change it

RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond City leaders are set to take up what's being called a historic investment in homeless services.

Next week, the city council will vote on giving the Salvation Army $7 million to operate an inclement weather shelter as well as a year-round shelter at 1900 Chamberlayne Avenue for ten years – significantly expanding the capacity of available beds.

Not only that, but the measures up for consideration would also establish an array of resources and programming to address job readiness, financial education, life skills, and mental health support.

However, a point of contention remains between city officials and leaders within the regional homeless connection network: How will people in need access services?

Right now, if someone in Central Virginia becomes homeless or is three days away from becoming homeless, they really only have one option to try and access help. They have to call the Homeless Connection Line.

But CBS 6 has spoken to many people in the past who have faced challenges trying to get someone on the line to answer or call back.

"I left a message. I never got a call back. I called three times, I believe, and never got an answer," Richard Belyeu, a father of three who became homeless, previously told CBS 6.

"They just say call back, we got you on file. That's not helping me," a homeless mother, who wanted to remain anonymous, previously said.

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Community advocates including Rhonda Sneed with Blessing Warriors and Nancy Williams with 3Blessings2U have also criticized the functioning of the Homeless Connection Line, saying the families they serve are continuously unable to get assistance.

With the possible approval of funding for a housing resource center located at the Salvation Army's shelter, councilmembers want it to provide a physical point of entry into the network of support. Basically, they'd like to ensure that homeless people have a place to literally walk up to so that they can receive immediate assistance or shelter placement.
However, that process is controlled by the GRCoC, not the city.

In a December 2023 report on reviewing access points, the GRCoC's policy committee said it would not recommend adding any new access points.

Instead, the report stated the GRCoC should focus on increasing staff for its coordinated outreach team and enhance Homeless Connection Line processes to ensure calls are being answered or returned as quickly as possible.

"We know that we cannot give people what we don't have. We would love to offer additional walk in resources if the funding, services, and housing supports and units were available to do so," Kelly King Horne, director of Homeward, said in an email to CBS 6.

According to the report, a majority of program participants who gave feedback for the committee's review said their primary concern was not getting connected with emergency shelter or housing quickly enough after going through the Homeless Connection Line. However, the report stated this was not an access issue, rather an issue of available resources and funding.

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On Thursday during a city council committee meeting, councilor Stephanie Lynch said the Homeless Connection Line was "dysfunctional" and allowed homeless individuals to fall through the cracks of the system.

She said she was "irate" over Homeward and the GRCoC's lack of collaboration with the city after four years of trying to establish a housing resource center and physical point of entry.

“The one crux of the entire effort that we set out to accomplish was to have a better working point of entry. We can build the Taj Mahal of homeless services, but without a working front door, what good is it?” Lynch said.

Lynch added, "I don’t know how else to explain it but irate that we are still talking about a broken point of entry, and we will not — I’m not going to rest until we fix that part of it.”

Committee member Cynthia Newbille agreed and vowed to address the issue "without fail."

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