Adopting Shelter/Housing Justice

February 2026

SHARE THE PLATE
Our Share the Plate recipient for February is Eden Village. Eden Village of Richmond VA is working to build an affordable, gated tiny home community for the chronically ill and homeless. #GodsProject

WINTER SHELTER

Richmond is getting a new shelter for severe winter weather days.

Why it matters: The city has long faced limited shelter space during extreme cold, often leaving residents scrambling when beds quickly fill up.

Driving the news: CARITAS will operate the shelter at its South Richmond location on Stockton Street, starting Dec. 1, local leaders announced Wednesday.

How it works: The site activates once the Salvation Army’s shelter on Chamberlayne reaches capacity and temperatures drop below 40 degrees.

  • It’ll be able to house up to 60 people, but it’s not a walk-up shelter, said CARITAS president Karen O’Brien.
  • Those seeking warmth have to first go to the Chamberlayne shelter, and if it’s full, transportation will be provided to the CARITAS site.
  • The shelter will also connect people with housing resources and is hiring more staff to help run it.

Zoom out: The news marks a broader shift toward a more coordinated homelessness response among Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover — all of which had officials, including Mayor Avula, present at Wednesday’s announcement.

  • Avula noted that more than half of those counted in the region’s homelessness census listed their last address outside of Richmond.
  • CARITAS, a nonprofit, is the largest provider of shelter and recovery services in the region.

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January 2026

Winter Care Kits for Health Brigade
The Homeless Shelter group is collecting items for Winter Care Kits for Health Brigade.  They serve a largely unhoused population.  We’ll be collecting the following items in February after each Sunday service.  These are the items we’re collecting:
– Socks (new)
– Lotion (small oontainers)
– Chapsticks
– Hand-warmers
– Protein Bars
– Mittens or gloves (new)
Check with Amy Russell with questions.

December 2025 – Zoom Meeting

Adopt a Homeless Center team of First UU has been supporting Housing Families First Organization by providing dinner once a month.  We decided to stop this effort and started to look for new opportunities that align with this initiative.

Rev Amy Russel has identified an opportunity where we can help elderly people that were homeless for a while and are now newly housed.  These people face numerous challenges and two members of an organization that work with this group of people will come and tell us about how we can be of help.  We had planned to have this meeting after the church service on Sunday.  However, it is impossible to find an open Sunday for such a gathering in November or December.  So we have decided to have a Zoom meeting and details of the zoom meeting are below.

Topic: Homeless Group Meeting
Time: Dec 11, 2025 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 220 063 9412

November 2025

WINTER SHELTER
Richmond is getting a new shelter for severe winter weather days.
Why it matters: The city has long faced limited shelter space during extreme cold, often leaving residents scrambling when beds quickly fill up.
Driving the news: CARITAS will operate the shelter at its South Richmond location on Stockton Street, starting Dec. 1, local leaders announced Wednesday.
How it works: The site activates once the Salvation Army’s shelter on Chamberlayne reaches capacity and temperatures drop below 40 degrees.
  • It’ll be able to house up to 60 people, but it’s not a walk-up shelter, said CARITAS president Karen O’Brien.
  • Those seeking warmth have to first go to the Chamberlayne shelter, and if it’s full, transportation will be provided to the CARITAS site.
  • The shelter will also connect people with housing resources and is hiring more staff to help run it.
Zoom out: The news marks a broader shift toward a more coordinated homelessness response among Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover — all of which had officials, including Mayor Avula, present at Wednesday’s announcement.
  • Avula noted that more than half of those counted in the region’s homelessness census listed their last address outside of Richmond.
  • CARITAS, a nonprofit, is the largest provider of shelter and recovery services in the region.

July 2025

TENANT ORGANIZING
Now is the time to start organizing for a better future. Housing affordability is crushing so many people in our community. There are active organizations working to change this (Legal Aid, New VA Majority, etc.). They need our help! Only with more people-power can they make real change. Come to a meeting to learn how this new group forming at First UU can organize and act to create more equity and justice in housing for Richmond. Come hear more after service at 11:15am on August 10th, 17th or 24th in the Conference Room.
January 2025
1) We have agreed to work with two organizations – Housing Families First and CARITAS. Both of these organizations have been recipient of Share the plate in the last 12 months.
2) We have other opportunities to help these organizations and the details are being worked out.
3) There are 12 First UU members who are supporting this effort.

4) This group organization meeting will be held on Fourth Sunday of each month.

Adopt A Homeless Shelter