We Can Make Our Region A Place Where All Have A Safe Home

Homelessness is becoming more visible throughout our region; it doesn’t just impact one zip code or type of person. By joining together across our differences, we can deliver demonstrated solutions and fund proven programs to ensure we all have a safe place to call home.

The Greater Richmond Continuum of Care is a coordinated and compassionate network of homeless service providers in our region that has supported our most vulnerable neighbors for almost 25 years. In 2021 alone, our region’s Continuum of Care network of homeless service providers served over 5,500 people, provided over 147,000 shelter bed nights, and successfully diverted over 2,500 people away from homelessness. We recognize that the collective impact of our coordinated and compassionate homeless services network, although significant, is insufficient to meet the current need or the anticipated increase in need.

This summer, our region counted the most people living outdoors in our region since we began tracking this data. During this regional survey, we encountered 200 of our neighbors who would benefit from a continuance of the kind of effort undertaken in Seattle and in our own community during the pandemic. The pandemic demonstrated that additional resources for coordinated homeless services allow us to help more people and have a bigger impact. During the pandemic, GRCoC homeless service providers offered people experiencing homelessness rapid access to safe, indoor accommodation and connected these households to healthcare resources and housing-focused case management.

The collaborative, public-private partnership tackling homelessness in our region, like the one highlighted in this New York Times article, offers hope that we can make our region a place where all of our neighbors find a safe place to call home.