Homelessness
It was a warm day in August when Gloria Schroeder received a panicked call from her roommate that they were being evicted. She had barely arrived for work after dropping off her 8-month-old daughter, Davina, at daycare. The 22-year-old relied on public transport to get everywhere. Once she got closer to the house, she saw police outside. They told her she had five minutes to pack what she could and leave. If she didn’t, they would arrest her. Panic and…
In Richmond, which has the highest number of shelter beds and the highest number of unhoused individuals in the county, officials leased the Courtyard by Marriott and a second hotel. GRIP is managing the people staying at the Marriott.
But state funding for Homekey is set to end on Dec. 30
While advocates in Richmond are working to establish a city-sanctioned parking location with electricity, water and sewage access, issues at existing encampments are growing as more and more people move in.
“Four,” came the shout as another car filed into Richmond Police Activities League’s parking lot on September 22. This was passed down the line to a platoon of volunteers who rushed to assemble four food bundles as the car approached. Every Tuesday and Thursday since early September, thousands of these bundles, prepared by a variety of Oakland restaurants, are distributed to pedestrians and motorists – no questions asked. “The first time, we handed out 500 meals. Then it was 750….
Richmond is notorious for illegal dumping and litter, a decades-long problem driven by private and commercial interests looking for places to offload their trash for free. A group of unhoused people are working to tackle the problem while creating better living spaces at local encampments.
Richmonders of various faiths gathered in Nicholl Park early Saturday morning for the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program’s (GRIP) 33rd annual Harmony Walk. The 5K walk/run raises funds to fight homelessness and hunger in the greater Richmond area. GRIP, an organization that has been around for over 50 years, has dedicated itself to helping those in need. The center provides food and resources for individuals and families at risk for, or currently enduring, homelessness. Faith groups including Temple Beth Hillel, St….
For the first time since he was a toddler, 25-year-old Sedzi Solomon McNair has a home to call his own.
Over the years, Nella Gonçalves has become very used to hearing a certain question: “Ew, you work with the homeless? Don’t they stink?” Gonçalves is the deputy director of Beyond Emancipation, an organization that helps foster youth transition into lives as independent adults. Gonçalves meets a lot of very young people in very difficult positions; she said there’s not a single youth she works with who wouldn’t know what it’s like to fear homelessness. Yet, she observed, even though barely…