PLACE A CITY SANCTIONED SAFE SITE NEAR GRIP ON 22nd ST OR AT CIVIC CENTER SO THE UNHOUSED ARE HELPED, NOT HIDDEN

Richmond City Council has voted to explore placing an unhoused RV Parking site either in Hilltop Mall Parking lot or in front of City Hall. This petition is to let the City Council know that the unhoused RV Parking site should not be placed in the Hilltop Mall Parking Lot, as that would be “out of site out of mind”.

Another more viable site is available - a city owned site across the street from Greater Richmond Interfaith Program (GRIP) on 22nd street, which already provides services to the unhoused, including meals and showers - GRIP has pledged to expand their services if the site across from GRIP is selected. Prologis, the group purchasing the Hilltop Mall, has given preliminary indications they would help provide funding to pave the site and otherwise help prepare the site for RVs. The site would also make it easier to extend the program for multiple years. After the one year term of the Safe Parking program ends, GRIP has expressed interest in taking over the Safe Parking Site from the City government. This offers a viable long term solution and site, rather than a short term, single year proposal.

Under the current plan, neither children nor pets are provided for. GRIP has indicated that they would be willing to work with the council to formulate a plan that would include both of these groups at the GRIP site on 22nd street. Additionally, GRIP has stated that they would be open to allowing people to stay for more than the current plan’s 90-180 day window. As the program currently stands, the 90-180 day window would force people to relocate shortly after moving to the site. 

Placing the site in the Hilltop Mall Parking Lot would be counter productive and would only be a temporary solution.

Citizens from all over Richmond have signed this petition to show that they do not believe Hilltop Mall is the correct place for this site, and to show their support for the GRIP site. 

The 22nd street GRIP site is near social services organizations for the unhoused, veterans, and at risk youth. There is food distribution infrastructure already set up for people in need, a Kaiser hospital a few blocks away, and there is a public transportation hub close by as well.  There are a number of charitable organizations in the area, and the site is currently a city owned empty lot, so approval would be much easier and would not be dependent upon a private entity’s purchasing agreement. Because the site is city owned, any investment into the infrastructure would be investing into a public site for future public use. 

Additionally, because a number of services are already present at the site, less capital would have to be spent setting up amenities to serve our unhoused citizens, allowing funding to last longer. 

The 22nd street site is near food pantries, public transportation, and medical care that Hilltop Mall simply does not offer. The Civic Center site is also near a plethora of services that are unavailable at Hilltop Mall. 

Please sign this petition to let the City Council know that relegating vulnerable members of our community to far flung parking lots on the fringes of our city is not the appropriate solution to the current housing crisis. 

The below news url is the East Bay Times article and source confirming the Council’s decision. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.eastbaytimes.com/2021/02/08/we-got-rules-down-here-east-bay-homeless-camps-are-getting-organized-5/amp/

*If you no longer support the language of this petition, you may remove your name at any time*