The City of Charlottesville doesn’t want to criminalize homelessness, but city leaders and police agree that something needs to be done to address the crisis.
A proposed ordinance was recently introduced to combat complaints related to quality of life and the safety of the downtown area.
According to a policy briefing presented to City Council from Police Chief Michael Kochis, there has been a growing number of complaints related to blocking sidewalks and rights-of-way, accumulation of personal belongings and impacts on surrounding neighborhoods and businesses.
A proposal that would ban sleeping, camping or storing any belongings on city property was tabled earlier this month by City Council after the community and agencies that deal with housing vehemently opposed it.
According to a briefing on the proposed ordinance, violations would have been considered a Class 4 misdemeanor. In Virginia, this is considered the lowest level of criminal offense, but it is punishable by a fine up to $250. The charge would not have imposed jail time.
Those who were against the ordinance said that the city had an obligation to provide an alternative before the unhoused were threatened with charges and fines, which most could not afford.
While the city won’t move forward with imposing criminal charges, Charlottesville City Manager Sam Sanders said that homelessness “is the entire city’s problem,” and “we must address it.”
City examines affordable housing, low-barrier shelter
Shayla Washington, the executive director of the Blue Ridge Area Coalition for the Homeless, said the city needs to find a humane solution to the housing crisis.
“Not having something in place that’s a viable solution at this moment would be inhumane and criminal, to criminalize homelessness and not have anywhere to send folks who really need that,” said Washington.
City Council is looking at two ways to address the growing problem – but neither offer a quick remedy.
The city would like to see more affordable housing options and a year-round low-barrier shelter for the city’s unhoused community.
“Some people are coping with the trauma of homelessness by drinking or using drugs and substances,” said Washington. “We really need to lower that threshold of what we require folks to have just to have a decent roof over their heads to sleep at night.”
The city does not offer direct services for unsheltered individuals but does support organizations like BRACH, PACEM, The Salvation Army and The Haven who do provide direct support.
“Affordable housing and inclusive of people experiencing homelessness, is one of the strategic priorities of the city, and so I know that it’s on their radar and a priority for them to alleviate that and eradicate homelessness from the city,” Misty Graves, Director of Human Services for the City of Charlottesville, told AFP in an interview in Februrary. “But like I said, they do so more in a way of not providing direct services at this point, but to leverage the resources that are existing in our community.”
An overnight shelter operated by The Salvation Army is near capacity. The shelter has 58 beds total. The city also has a day shelter with resources available at The Haven; and a seasonal cold-weather shelter operated by PACEM.
“I do think the obligation that city and county governments have is to the people who live here, and so whether that’s sidewalks and roads and clearing snow, it also includes services and in the city, our vision is to be a place where everyone thrives, and that, to me, includes every person that lives this city, whether they’re housed or not,” Graves said.
“And so it is upon local governments, I think, to focus on the people we are designed to serve.”
Trump administration tough on homeless in DC
The move to consider the ordinance comes at a time when the Trump administration has used heavy-handed tactics to clear the homeless population out of prominent D.C. tourist areas including near the White House.
The National Guard was called in to assist with the effort without any coordination with local housing agencies or city officials leading to chaos and confusion.
The administration has said that police will give homeless people three options: go to a homeless shelter, go to an addiction or mental health treatment facility or go to jail.
ICYMI
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- Trump has a bright idea that will eliminate DC’s homeless problem: Ship ’em out of town
- NAMI: ‘Grave concerns’ over putting nation’s homeless in institutions as solution to crisis
- The Trump solution to homelessness: Round ’em up, put ’em in facilities
“[Housing] is cheaper than jail. It is cheaper than institutions. It is not effective to put someone in jail for a night,” Amber Harding, executive director of the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, told NPR. “Where are they going when they get out? They’re going back to the street. You haven’t solved the problem.”
The federal government seems to be pushing states and localities to fall in line with its approach to the crisis by limiting funding to regions with more lax enforcement.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration recently released guidance related to its priorities under Donald Trump. It said that agencies in cities that have prohibitions to urban camping, loitering and squatting will receive funding priority. The strategic priorities also said that it would more likely fund initiatives in areas that adopt policies for individuals who are living on the streets and cannot care for themselves to be moved to “treatment centers or other appropriate facilities via civil commitment or other available means, to the maximum extent provided by law.”
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Crystal Graham
