Richmond changes process for opening CARITAS Surge Shelter after low temperatures on Saturday

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- After the Richmond area saw lower temperatures on Saturday than were expected, and the new CARITAS Surge Shelter remained closed, the process to open the shelter has changed to allow for possible forecast changes.

Not to be confused with the CARITAS shelter, Richmond's Inclement Weather Shelter, located on Chamberlayne Avenue and operated by the Salvation Army, is the primary shelter in the city for those experiencing homelessness.

The Inclement Weather Shelter opens each night from Nov. 15 to April 15.

The new 60-bed CARITAS Surge Shelter, on the other hand, serves Richmond as well as Chesterfield, Henrico and Hanover counties. In its first year, it provided overflow shelter when the following conditions were met:

• When the Inclement Weather Shelter reaches capacity and the temperature is below 40 degrees for at least two hours,
• Or if there is at least one inch of snow or icy precipitation.

A city spokesperson said the Surge Shelter is not advertised as a walk-in shelter, and folks are offered transportation there after completing the intake process at the Chamberlayne Avenue Inclement Weather Shelter.

According to a city spokesperson, the city receives weather reports from DTN, and forecasts are checked multiple times per week to determine whether the conditions to open the Surge Shelter are met.

So far this year, the city spokesperson said the requirement has been three days of lead time before the city notifies CARITAS to open the shelter so that staff can prepare the facility.

Due to previous forecasts made for the weekend, the city said the Surge Shelter did not open on Saturday, Dec. 27, though temperatures reached lows of 37 degrees on Saturday and 36 degrees on Sunday, according to our StormTracker8 team.

The city said the Inclement Weather Shelter hosted 102 people -- slightly over the shelter's maximum capacity of 100 people.

As of this week, the city said it will now have two days of lead time before notifying CARITAS to open the Surge Shelter in case of changes in the weather forecast.

This follows a slew of issues with inclement weather shelters throughout the region, including the co-founder of one now-shuttered shelter being accused of embezzling tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars.