Today’s edition is sponsored by Nola Builds

Five times five is not 125, but May 5 is the 125th day of the year and goes by 5/5 no matter what side of the Atlantic you are on. Charlottesville Community Engagement has so far been produced on the Western side but one potential future would be for at least some editions to be created in other parts of the world. After all, it has now been three years since the World Health Organization declared the end of the COVID-19 pandemic global health emergency. This opening paragraph was written while listening to an Italian radio station.

In this edition:

* Four nonprofit groups that provide support for unhoused people present the annual State of Homelessness report to Charlottesville City Council

* There’s no new public information about how three of those groups will operate a low-barrier shelter at 2000 Holiday Drive

* More support has been requested for those in encampments along the Rivanna River but at least one Councilor said another plan is needed

First shout-out: Upcoming Charlottesville Area Tree Steward walks to celebrate May

The mission of the Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards is to support rural and urban forests and promote knowledge and understanding of the value of trees for present and future generations.

One way the group does that is through holding guided tree walks and there are two opportunities coming up this month.

* Charlottesville’s Belmont neighborhood is a good example of the city’s tree canopy. Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards Steve Huff and Scott Syverud will lead walks on at 9 a.m. on both May 7 and May 8 for people age 14. Sign up for May 7 here or register for May 8 here.

* On May 9 at 10 a.m., Charlottesville Area Tree Steward Emily Ferguson will lead a two hour walk at the Virginia Department of Forestry to help identify Hickories, Oaks, and Pines - Oh My! Register here!

* On May 12 at 9:30 a.m., Syverud will begin a walk to celebrate Springtime in the Forest at Ivy Creek. Sign up here.

All walks are free, but donations are always appreciated. Thanks!

The State of Homelessness 2026: Low-barrier homeless shelter edition

Every year, nonprofit organizations that work with the unhoused population present City Council with an update on their efforts. The annual State of Homelessness report provides an opportunity to get a big picture look at an intractable issue that the City of Charlottesville is investing millions to solve including the recent purchase of an office building off the U.S. 250 bypass.

“This year takes on a different lens because we’ve had a lot of conversations in regards to 2000 Holiday Drive,” said City Manager Sam Sanders. “This is a chance to go beyond that one facility that we’ve been discussing and gives the providers an opportunity to provide the Council and the public an update.”

Since the last report, several groups have come together to develop an operations plan to run a permanent shelter around the clock. That would include roles for The Haven, People and Congregations Engaged in Ministry (PACEM), and the Blue Ridge Area Coalition for the Homeless (BRACH).

BRACH leads the Continuum of Care

The executive director of the latter went first.

“Overall we’ve seen an increase in numbers across the board, stronger collaboration and partnerships between the agencies that are represented here today and just better cohesion of services,” said Shayla Washington. “So I think the overarching message is we’re all working together, but there’s still a greater need than what we can achieve as single entities.”

BRACH is the lead agency in the Continuum of Care, a framework established by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1994 to coordinate services. BRACH formed in 1998 and became a tax-exempt non-profit in 2009.

“We are the HUD-designated system, mostly handling the HUD federal application for funding,” Washington said. “Currently, our CoC only receives funding for permanent supportive housing from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. But we do oversee regional planning, data collection and data performance, and really just trying to be that main body that’s coordinating all the regional housing and homeless services for folks who are experiencing homelessness.”

Every year, BRACH also coordinates the Point in Time count which records population data for HUD. This year’s event was held on January 28 in the middle of a long cold snap exacerbated by an ice storm. There was an emphasis on getting people inside that night through emergency hotel room stays but Washington said seven people slept in the cold overnight.

“We found four people who were sleeping outside and chose to stay outside for that night from Charlottesville and Albemarle, and then three from Louisa County,” Washington said. “We did not receive numbers from the other counties in our catchment area. We had 87 people who were hotel through emergency hotel stays.”

BRACH also runs the Coordinated Entry Management System which contains the names and identities of people documented as homeless. As of May 4, there were 333 individuals on what is referred to as the By Name List.

“This is people who are either outside or sleeping in a shelter, any place not meant for human habitation,” Washington said. “So if they have a roof over their head, it’s because it’s an emergency shelter or it’s because they are sleeping in a car or a place that doesn’t have running water or electricity. If they’re couch surfing or staying with friends or family and just kind of unstably housed, that does not count towards our by name list.”

Of those 333 people, 58 identified the City of Charlottesville as their last permanent address and 21 said from Albemarle County. Around two-thirds either did not say or were not asked. Washington said that could be improved over time through better training.

“Sometimes people aren’t willing to give a lot of information at the first point of contact with them,” Washington said. “And so it’s just reminding service providers to continue just trying to collect that data anytime you can.”

At the moment there are only 54 permanent shelter beds available year-round operated by the Salvation Army at their facility on Ridge Street. That number increases to just over 100 when PACEM operates night shelters in area churches. There are 30 spots for rapid rehousing. And 30 permanent supportive housing spaces.

“With permanent supportive housing, these are folks who are mostly older,” Washington said. “One third of them don’t have income and they all have disabling conditions and were homeless for very long periods of time before they got into this housing. And it’s the most stable that they’ve ever been in some cases, many cases.”

Supportworks Housing are building another 80 permanent supportive units at their Vista 29 facility on U.S. 29.

Rapid rehousing offers up to 24 months of case management to assist a person with handling their finances to stay in a place.

Washington also presented data on some of the reasons why Charlottesville is an easy place for some to fall out of the housing system. For instance, the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is between $1,700 and $1,850

“As a reminder, affordable housing is defined as not paying more than 30% of your income towards rent,” Washington said.

The City of Charlottesville now designates BRACH as a fundamental agency so it receives $250,000 a year to provide services deemed to be vital. That has allowed them to hire a full-time grants and data manager. This year the agency will for the first time conduct a Point in Time count for unsheltered people in the summer.

PACEM began operations in 2003 and Deputy Director Cindy Chambers said the organization has traditionally relied on volunteers to operate the shelter in the cold weather months.

“One of our churches who hosted 40 men for two weeks required at least 100 volunteers and spent roughly $7,000 to do it,” Chambers said. “So we are an organization that has always thrived on the giving and the compassion of the congregations in our community.”

In recent years, staff has undergone some professionalization with additional resources from the City of Charlottesville.

Seven people work for the organization year round and there are 27 people who work during the season. In addition to the cold weather shelter, PACEM also runs a secure housing program which offers a year of case management to help a client get through to permanent housing.

“It’s similar to rapid rehousing in the sense that we give intensive case management,” Chambers said. “However, we do not get any sort of state funding. It’s all pr...