$1 Million Investment Granted to the Greater Richmond Continuum of Care

Richmond City Council unanimously approved a $1,000,000 investment in the Greater Richmond Continuum of Care (GRCoC), a coordinated and compassionate network of homeless service providers that strives to ensure we all have a safe place to call home. This funding marks the first time that the City of Richmond has allocated City tax dollars to the GRCoC. The funding allocation was part of a broader budget amendment proposed by Mayor Levar Stoney and approved at  City Council's December 12th meeting.

“The entire GRCoC network is grateful for the City of Richmond’s leadership and support,” said Annette Cousins, Chair of the GRCoC Board of Directors. “The need for homelessness services continues to rise and these funds will help our network support more people facing the crisis of homelessness. We hope that the City can continue this type of investment in the future because we’ve seen that more money for coordinated homeless serves can have a substantial impact.”

This investment in the GRCoC will be used to provide rehousing assistance, case management, and support for existing shelter providers. In 2021 alone, GRCoC’s network of 34 agencies served over 5,500 people, provided over 147,000 shelter bed nights, and successfully diverted over 2,500 people away from homelessness.

“This additional funding from the City of Richmond will allow our coordinated and compassionate system of homeless service providers meet the needs of more of our most vulnerable neighbors in the City,” added Kelly King Horne, Executive Director of Homeward, the GRCoC’s planning and coordinating agency. “These resources will be leveraged based on a community-led strategy and will support agencies that have a proven track record of success in getting more people on the path to safe and stable housing.”

Additional information about the GRCoC and community-based efforts to reduce homelessness is available at endhomelessnessrva.org.