Another Virginia summer is about to slam us with triple-digit temperatures and Ecuadorian humidity, and local neighborhoods are abuzz with the sound of central air-conditioning. But what about the homeless?
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, summer is no less dangerous for homeless people than winter. Heat stroke and hyperthermia can be life threatening, especially when accompanied by the dehydrating effects of alcohol and a lack of water—not to mention lesser health problems like athlete’s foot and severe sunburn.
Now a local group is stepping up their efforts to provide Charlottesville’s homeless with a place to go beat the heat. The project is called COMPASS Day Haven, and its members aim to find a house where local homeless can go during the day to shower, watch television, do laundry, eat snacks and get instructions on where to find local social services. “This is not designed to be a sleepover,” says Erik Speer, the new project coordinator for COMPASS.
Speer is hitting the streets trying to round up real estate and money. The ideal location, he says, is a house with at least 1,000 square feet within a one-mile radius of Downtown.
Zoning is also a problem. Most places around Downtown are zoned either residential or commercial, but the COMPASS house needs a multiuse zoning. “We’re looking at parts of Cherry Avenue, Albemarle Street, down Meade Avenue and Market Street, and the lower High Street area,” says Speer. The City is currently considering rezoning more of Cherry Avenue for mixed-use development, a designation that would make more houses available to COMPASS.
So far, COMPASS has collected about $9,000, with $6,000 coming from an anonymous foundation and two anonymous individual donors. Speer hopes to get the shelter open by August.—John Borgmeyer
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