CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – With temperatures expected to drop and snow and ice in the forecast, homeless advocates and city officials said they’re stepping up efforts to support the unhoused community currently encamped at Free Bridge Lane.

City Manager Sam Sanders told Cville Right Now that city staff and non-profit organizations have had people out at the encampment urging people there to take advantage of city and charity groups’ shelter options, at least for the weekend.

“People are going out there and trying to convince people to take advantage of something else other than being outside,” Sanders said. “I think for the most part they’re going to move and they’ll just go back when the temperatures are better, and we’re going to always check on them.”

Unhoused encampments are not uncommon in the Free Bridge Lane area, but in recent weeks the current iteration has grown and, with the dangerous weather in the forecast, is raising concerns for city officials. The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Watch for the area starting at 4 p.m. Saturday.

The site is an ideal location for unhoused people to set up tents as they navigate their current situation, because it’s close to downtown, close to water from the Rivanna and out of the way of businesses, said Shayla Washington, executive director of the Blue Ridge Area Coalition for the Homeless.

Still, the current size of the encampment is unprecedented, said Washington, who has been working with Charlottesville’s unhoused since 2016. There are believed to be dozens of unhoused people living in tents and other makeshift shelters in the area.

“I don’t think it’s ever been this large of an encampment site,” she said. “This is the biggest amount of people we’ve seen located at this spot.”

And while the location has been suitable for much of January, this weekend’s storm could change that. Washington said BRACH has had an outreach worker visiting the encampment, along with social workers from UVA and other area advocacy groups, urging residents there to consider going to a shelter for a few days, to keep out of the elements.

“We really are a shelter of last resort,” Washington said. “We’re just trying to keep people safe and warm and sheltered so that they’re not dying on the streets. That’s really what we try to emphasize. We’re doing outreach and talking to folks like, ‘Hey I know this isn’t that ideal situation, but it could save your life. We just want to help you stay out of the cold.'”

James Carter/Minerva Photography 

Washington said PACEM and the Salvation Army offer overnight options for the unhoused, while The Haven is open during the daytime – and offers breakfast. BRACH, PACEM and the Salvation Army can also offer some unhoused people hotel rooms during the height of this weekend’s storm.

Cville Care Bears is a grassroots organization asking people to purchase and donate items like camp heaters, firewood and propane tanks to distribute to the city’s unhoused to help them stay warm during the storm.

The National Weather Service is warning that temperatures overnight Friday could reach minus 5 degrees with the windchill, creating the risk of hypothermia. It has issued a Winter Storm Watch, forecasting ice and snowfall of 5-10 inches. Gov. Abigail Spanberger has declared a state of emergency in Virginia ahead of the storm.

“That’s real pressure and it’s driving a lot of our actions right now, just checking in and making sure that all the different supports that we do have in place – and most of our supports have emergency elements to it – but we’re activating all of that because the temperatures are dropping to dangerous levels,” Sanders said. “Most of (the people) are choosing to go into what are available shelter spaces. We have hotel options as part of the process when we get to these dangerous levels. We have people taking us up on these choices where they wouldn’t ordinarily sometimes.”

While the city broke up a similar encampment at Market Street Park, enforcing a curfew there, it has not taken any action against the people who have built a growing tent city near Free Bridge Lane, along the Rivanna River. In fact, Sanders said the city is making an effort to help keep that area safe and sanitary for both the unhoused population and the rest of Charlottesville’s citizens. That work includes increasing area trash pickups and cleanup efforts, and offering storage opportunities for possessions.

“The concern is always safety, their safety as well as those who are coming into the area,” Sanders said. “There are always things we have to stay conscious of. We have to make sure we are delicately managing encampments, is the way I refer to it with my team. We’re looking at some things we can do that will make it better for them who are there and those who are coming through.”

James Carter/Minerva Photography