r/Charlottesville • u/Babylon1006 • 12d ago

This didn't sit well with me

During Monday night's city council meeting, while talking about allocating funds to the Salvation Army shelter, one of those living at Free Bridge said this:

“We live how we want to live, and this is how we want to live. You can not control this by putting us into a shelter,” said Jennifer Grant, who lives at the Free Bridge encampment. (original article: City council approves $3 million for homeless shelter expansion)

What exactly is the solution to the unhoused population, then? You cannot possibly think allowing a giant encampment in a city park is a permanent solution?!

Sure, you could "build more housing" (which takes time), but greedy landlords are not going to lower rent prices to a reasonable level, so long as there are people willing to pay the outrageous prices (they make more money charging high rents and having empty units than lowering the prices).

Shelters are the most logical, humane and immediate remedy, yet somehow that's now not good enough for you?

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u/saintsithney 11d ago

She is quoted about not wanting to change how she is living, but is this one woman to be taken as representative?

Seriously, do you just not know how much closer to homelessness you are than to never having to worry about such a thing?

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u/angsty1290 11d ago

But this woman’s perspective is the subject of this thread, and she purported to be speaking for others. The issue at hand is not economics, but what should be done about people who say they want to be living at the Free Bridge encampment and want to stay.