TJACH: People in emergency shelter in Charlottesville-area has risen

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - The Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for Homelessness spoke to Charlottesville City Council Monday, May 2, about this year’s point in time count (PIT).

The PIT is a count of sheltered and unsheltered people on one single night in January - this report shows people in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. The report says the number of people in transitional shelters has stayed about the same, but those in emergency shelters skyrocketed because of lack of turnover and issues brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

“The most significant shift has just occurred over this past year, and it’s directly related to the pandemic and also things that the pandemic has brought with it like high housing costs, and lack of available affordable housing,” Anthony Haro with TJACH said.

The presentation also said almost 70% of people who needed homelessness services last year were experiencing homelessness for the first time.

TJACH says some solutions could be to increase shelter options year round and to provide more opportunities for those to move out of shelter like affordable housing.

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