Richmond council committee hears urgent calls for more shelter capacity as EBT thefts worsen

The Richmond City Council’s Emergency & Human Services Committee on Thursday heard sustained public criticism over shelter closures and hunger alongside a briefing from city staff on shelter capacity, coordinated entry and a recent spike in electronic benefits (EBT) thefts.

Advocates, service providers and residents told the committee that existing shelter and outreach systems are not meeting urgent needs. “It is really not making any sense to me,” said Leron Gibson, who identified himself as unhoused during public comment. “You have 1 shelter, Salvation Army Shelter, 60 beds for men, 40 for women, yet we cook and feed 3–400 people a day.” Gibson added: “$3,000,000 for a pet shelter. $0,000,000 for people. How does that make sense?”

The committee’s deputy chief administrative officer for human services, Tracy DeShazer, acknowledged the depth of the problem and said city staff heard the public’s concerns: “We wholeheartedly agree with absolutely everything that’s been said today,” she told the committee, adding that the city is both operating shelters and working on longer-term housing solutions.

Why it matters: Committee members and stakeholders said the city must urgently balance life‑saving short‑term shelter capacity for extreme weather with investment in permanent, deeply affordable housing that reduces chronic homelessness. Several speakers described people sleeping outdoors during a recent cold snap and asked the city to expand walk‑up access points and emergency overflow capacity.

What city staff told the committee

Tiffany Ford, director of the newly formed Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, said the city recently ran two overflow shelters, serving “between 45 to 50 at the 900 East Marshall location” and an average of about 10 at a south‑side site that had…