Charlottesville completes relocation of people from homeless encampment

The City of Charlottesville reported in a release on Wednesday that it has completed the transition of unhoused individuals from the Free Bridge encampment on the Rivanna riverfront.

The two-day operation relocated 26 people from the homeless encampment to an emergency shelter at 2000 Holiday Drive, according to the city government.

The focus at the encampment site at this point is on cleanup operations “as the city works to restore the area for recreational use,” per the release.

“The Rivanna Trail is open, but trail users are asked to remain mindful of city contractors working in the area as cleanup continues over the coming days,” the release tells us.

The city had announced the planned operation back in July, on the heels of two reported sexual assaults in the encampment, and the death of a 57-year-old homeless man living in the encampment in June.

The encampment had become a community focus since it began to form organically dating back to last year.

Charlottesville City Council voted last year to purchase a former hotel for $6.25 million with plans to convert the space into a low-barrier shelter for the unhoused.

The plans are coming along at a glacial pace, though, it appears.

Frustrated by that slow pace, a city resident filed a suit in July naming Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis that accused the police department of failing to enforce trespassing laws at the encampment.

The suit, filed hours before the first reported rape in the encampment, says the encampment “poses a threat to public safety and health” – listing the causes of that threat as “sewage produced by the encampment, dirty needles left by individuals in the encampment, and violence for the homeless.”

A release from the Charlottesville Police Department with details of the second reported sexual assault defended the department’s actions in regard to the encampment, telling us that the PD had committed “significant resources” to the encampment, “both in personnel and technology, and continues to do so to help ensure the safety of those living in and visiting the encampment.”