The City of Charlottesville has stepped in to fill a funding gap for an essential housing program for community members who were once chronically homeless. A lapse in funding could have sent them back to the streets.
Monday night, Charlottesville City Council voted unanimously to reallocate $234,000 in funds it originally set aside for low-barrier shelter operations, to Region Ten’s permanent supportive housing program. That amount fully covers the program for the next six months.
It covers rent, utilities and case management services for 32 formerly unhoused community members, many of whom are elderly and disabled.
The program, which costs just under $500,000 per year to run, has long been funded by the U.S. Office of Housing and Urban Development. But recently, the federal government announced its intentions to move away from funding these types of programs, causing confusion among service providers and delaying the application process. It put the future of the program — and the safety and security of those 32 community members — in jeopardy.
As of publication, it is unclear whether Region Ten’s permanent supportive housing program will receive HUD funding at all. The Blue Ridge Area Coalition for the Homeless, a local nonprofit, will be applying for HUD funds on behalf of Region Ten; applications are due later this month. Even if the program does receive a funding award, it is unclear when the money will actually be available, BRACH Executive Director Shayla Washington previously told Charlottesville Tomorrow.
City Manager Sam Sanders acknowledged that uncertainty from the dais Monday night, saying that the $234,000 is meant to be “a temporary stopgap.” The city is looking at increasing its funding to Region Ten in its 2027 fiscal year budget, Sanders added.
There is also a possibility that some of the people in Region Ten’s program could be transferred into a permanent supportive housing program run by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.
But as of right now, that’s not guaranteed, BRACH executive director Shayla Washington told Charlottesville Tomorrow Tuesday morning.
“I don’t have any updates about it yet, so we’re assuming there will be no help from that program for now,” she said.
If those folks do get accepted into the state program, however, Region Ten and BRACH would not need the full $234,000 and would return the rest to the city.
This is the second year in a row that the city has stepped in to help with this particular program. An application error meant that the program received no funding from HUD for 2025, so the city funded it instead. That money ran out a few days ago, on Jan. 31. Any gap in funding for the program could have put people back out on the streets.
Region Ten’s permanent supportive housing program wasn’t the only homeless service program the Council voted to fund Monday night.
The Council also gave $65,000 to People and Congregations Engaged in Ministry to help keep its low-barrier overnight shelter open through the spring. PACEM’s shelter operates in the colder months, usually from October through April. After not meeting a fundraising goal, the organization asked for help from the city, City Manager Sam Sanders explained from the dais Monday night.
Another $170,000 went to The Salvation Army for operating costs for six apartments for families experiencing homelessness — something service providers have repeatedly said the area needs. The Salvation Army built out the apartments which will cost $340,000 to operate. The city will be paying for half of those costs. The Salvation Army’s Ridge Street shelter is set to undergo a renovation, and when it does, those families will not be displaced, Sanders said.
The $469,000 total for all three programs will come from money City Council previously allocated for low-barrier shelter operations, according to the policy briefing summary included in the meeting’s agenda. In its fiscal year 2026 budget, the city set aside $500,000 for low-barrier shelter operations. The city has purchased a building for such a shelter, but it is not yet open, so the money could not be used for that purpose. The city and service providers are in the planning stage for the shelter.
