The city of Charlottesville is considering an arrangement with The Salvation Army to convert its thrift store along Cherry Avenue into a year-round, low-barrier shelter for people experiencing homelessness.
Currently, the group operates a high-barrier shelter nearby — at 207 Ridge St. — and plans to renovate the building, which will then be called the Center of Hope.
Mark Van Meter, who leads the Charlottesville Salvation Army, said before being admitted to the high-barrier shelter, people go through background and sex-registry checks.
“The program that is currently established is geared towards helping individuals to end their cycle of homelessness,” Van Meter said during a council meeting earlier this week.
At the Ridge Street location, people can be admitted for a 21-day emergency stay and work with case managers. Their stays can be extended, allowing time to find stable housing or obtain proper ID.
“This last month, we saw 11 individuals leave our shelter, stabilized out of homelessness, now as productive individuals in our community,” Van Meter said, noting that the facility is a “stopgap” created to help people change their lives.
He described the low-barrier shelter as “a warm, safe environment for individuals to get off the street.”
About 190 people in 2023 were identified as being unhoused in the region.
The Cherry Street renovations could cost $750,000, and the city of Charlottesville would cover one-third of that with American Rescue Plan and capital investment funds, according to City Manager Sam Sanders. Operating the space would cost $500,000 a year.
Sanders said an operator for the facility had not been selected, but hopes community members would help raise funds for the project, if it moves forward.
“That’s going to be a big project that’s going to take some time to do,” Sanders said about the Cherry Street shelter.