RICHMOND, Va. — The Richmond Branch NAACP is calling out Richmond City Council after it voted to pay $2 million for a new RACC shelter.
"We cannot say that we're putting the priority of animals over families that have nowhere to go," said Tracey Hardney-Scott, the Richmond Branch NAACP's Housing Chair.
She sent an email to the council after the 7-2 vote, which happened just days before Home Again announced it would close its shelter that services single men and veterans.
"I was really taken aback, when I found out that out of our whole city council, only two of our city council persons firmly objected to this," Hardney-Scott said, citing the recent closure and lack of shelter space for families.
Hardney-Scott isn't the only one who works with Richmond's homeless population sharing concerns about the vote.
Several advocates spoke out at a city council meeting Thursday, asking for more support from city leaders.
"There are hundreds of children sleeping in a car right now," said Rhonda Sneed with Blessing Warriors, which works on the ground with Richmond's homeless population daily.
"When are they going to open up a year-round shelter, a walk-up shelter, for families? We were told the one on 2nd Street was supposed to be a walk-up shelter. What happened with that?" Sneed asked.
At the same meeting, Traci Deshazor, DCAO of Human Services with the city, said it put money toward forming the city's Office of Homeless Services, which would provide specialists to help get families and individuals the resources they may need.
Just last month, a resource office opened at the Chamberlayne Avenue Salvation Army shelter site and is said to be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours on Wednesdays.
"We are still focusing on expanding capacity right now," Deshazor said.
Deshazor told the council that the city has received support from neighboring localities like Henrico to help with housing navigation, but mentioned lack of housing is a constant issue.
"We can support residents in connecting with all the other services, but if they do not have a house or anywhere to go, they are going to remain in the same situation," Deshazor said.
Stephanie Lynch, one of the two council members who voted no to the $2 million going toward the RACC facility, asked Deshazor if more funding was needed.
“I think currently with the funding that council has allocated, you all have been very gracious in that budget, I do think that our team is well prepared and again, we have been preparing for this, so we have budgeted and used what we’ve been given very, very well," Deshazor said.
However, Lynch told CBS 6's Tyler Layne she'll wait to see how the allocation of funding plays out.
“Our benchmark of success is how quickly will case manager or social worker like myself or others who are working on the ground with these families be able to get them from street to shelter, and from there, how quickly we can get them from shelter to permanent stable housing," Lynch said.
“If it’s a husband and wife, the husband can go to the men’s shelter, the wife can go to the women’s shelter, but somebody’s gotta stay with the children. So, someone is displaced. Okay? So there’s no place for these people to go," Hardney-Scott said.
You can find more information on the city's homeless services here.
Additional Contact Information:
Richmond's Housing Connection Line: 804-972-0813
Richmond Homeless Services Liaison: 804-646-1191/ homeless@rva.gov
Housing Resource Line: 804-422-5061
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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