RICHMOND, Va. -- As a dangerous heatwave lingers throughout Central Virginia, some homeless people are left with nowhere to go and relying on support from community organizations to battle the heat.
“A lot of people are dehydrated out here. We’ve found a couple people passed out," said Rhonda Sneed, founder of Blessing Warriors RVA.
She spent her Friday handing out cold Gatorade, water, wet rags, and other supplies to homeless people in Downtown Richmond, as the heat index reached temperatures up to 110 degrees.
“They expect us all the time. They know we come out, especially when it’s hot," Sneed said.
CBS 6 followed along with Sneed Friday, who was well-known and highly praised by the homeless people she served.
“Rhonda is one heck of a lady, because she’s always out here helping people," one man said.
“She does a lot and does a good job at it," another man said.
A third man referred to her as "the number one volunteer in all of Richmond."
Though Sneed particularly wants to help people cool off in the heat, she continues her mission year-round, no matter the weather, to fill the gaps of what she believes is a lack of homelessness resources provided by the city government.
“People are going to die out here. The city has a cooling station, so they say, but how are they going to let these people know?” Sneed asked.
“What they need to do is have more shelters for people to stay at night," a man named Matt said.
“They need to put the homeless people in permanent housing... instead of just pushing the homeless aside," said a man named Andre, who mentioned he has been homeless for four months.
On Friday, the Richmond City Council released its priorities and requests for Mayor Levar Stoney's office in addressing the homelessness crisis.
Presenting a sense of camaraderie, Councilwoman Stephanie Lynch (5th District) and Chief Administrative Officer Lincoln Saunders, the mayor's appointed top city official, spoke with CBS 6 on these initiatives during a joint interview.
“These recommendations are going to be the footing, or the foundation really, for a very, very great and effective system for people," Lynch said.
“We’ve had a dedicated group of folks working on homeless services as well as out of my office," Saunders said.
By July 31, councilors want the city administration to:
- Put an additional $700,000 into the family crisis fund, a program that provides direct cash payments, which are administered by the non-profit Human Kind, for families to pay for rent and hotel rooms
- Saunders said the city administration just recently put $600,000 into the program and plans to invest an additional $250,000 "shortly."
- Deploy resources for case management, specifically with a focus on families and children, by allocating an additional $120,000 for Daily Planet Health Services to continue case management services through November
- “That type of intense case management is so, so important to really walk alongside of a family as they move through the journey of getting back to housing stability," Lynch said.
The city administration is also set to present its report on a year-round 24/7 shelter, something that's been talked about for years but has not been successfully implemented.
“We have a lot of fantastic providers who provide year-round shelter in the city. The challenge is just that the demand is greater than the current availability of shelter beds," Saunders said.
While Saunders said Richmond is working with its partners within the Greater Richmond Continuum of Care to expand bed capacities at regional shelters, he wouldn't confirm whether the city still plans on developing its own shelter facility.
"Part of what we're bringing forth this September to council is some options. That would probably be a bit of a mix of both city support from either a facility or operating subsidy standpoint, as well as ways that we would strengthen our partnership with Continuum of Care providers," Saunders said.
“Do you feel like the city has acted with urgency in addressing this crisis?” reporter Tyler Layne asked.
“I think the city has acted with urgency, but I think it speaks to the challenge of the problem," Saunders said, adding that the city did have plans for a year-round shelter a couple years ago in partnership with Commonwealth Catholic Charities, but the project ultimately failed.
Saunders continued, "We really have to be able to marry both a facility that can meet the need with the providers who have the expertise to provide the level of service. But at the same time, the city is also responding with urgency, particularly in the extreme weather events."
During a June council committee meeting, committee members said they wanted the city administration to immediately reopen, as soon as July, the seasonal inclement weather shelters, which were operated by three different non-profit partners from November through April.
Layne asked Saunders why the city didn't see that as a viable option.
"What we've been looking to do is establish partnerships and year-round shelter that can be that can be provided year-round and be sustainable," Saunders responded.
Some of the council's other priorities include:
- Creating an ordinance to solidify the city's expectations on operations, services, and timelines for shelter providers who receive city funds
- Creating a memorandum of understanding with regional partners and other localities to support the city's year-round housing resource center as the city has "traditionally bore the responsibility" of the inclement weather shelters and cooling stations
- An analysis of the Homeward's role (the nonprofit that serves as the planning agency for the Greater Richmond Continuum of Care) in the GRCoC and Homeward's operation of the Homeless Connection Line as the "sole coordinated point of entry" into the system of support
"Councilmember Lynch and I have talked about extensively, the mayor as well, increasing the strength of our intake process. Obviously, we have the housing crisis line, we have outreach workers... but having that physical first point of entry is really important," Saunders said.
Lynch said after many years of negotiations, discussions, and recommendations, she's optimistic about where the city has landed.
"It's taken us decades to get to this point, so the fact that we've been able to make this type of movement is something to celebrate, and really, I think it should give a lot of hope," Lynch said.
