Residents and advocates press Richmond officials on shelter safety and emergency aid after multiple incidents

Public commenters and nonprofit partners urged Richmond officials on Friday to improve safety and staffing at city-operated and contracted shelters after a series of incidents they said included threats by a security guard and families being told they would face child protective services if they did not enter overnight shelter.

The comments, submitted during the Education and Human Services standing committee’s public comment period, were followed by a staff update describing operational changes at the city’s inclement weather overflow shelter and next steps on a citywide family crisis fund created to assist residents affected by a multi-day water outage.

Advocates said city shelter procedures and private security contractors are not consistently equipped to handle guests with high rates of mental illness and substance use. Rhonda Sneed of Blessings Warriors said a woman and her six children were effectively turned away from an overflow shelter during a storm after staff told them they must stay overnight or risk reporting to Child Protective Services. “She will never come because her kids are gonna be taken from her,” Sneed said, speaking during public comment. She also said she has video of a security guard threatening to use her firearm while a…