Tuesday, June 16, 2026: City Manager Sam Sanders provides update on encampment, low-barrier shelter
Plus: The UVa Center for Community Partnerships takes a snapshot of children and family well-being in Albemarle and Charlottesville
Today’s sponsor: The Ragged Mountain Running and Walking Shop
A look at any particular day in history places humanity’s war with itself on display. For instance, significant events in war, the assassination of one leader to install another. But on any day there are also signs our species can work toward a greater understanding of our place in the universe. On June 16, 1995, NASA and the Michigan Technological University launched a website called Astronomy Picture of the Day. Charlottesville Community Engagement appreciates the wonder.
In this edition:
Charlottesville City Manager Sam Sanders provides another update on the city’s preparation for a low-barrier shelter and management of an encampment at Free Bridge
Charlottesville appoints a member to the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority Board but one vacancy remains
The University of Virginia’s Center for Community Partnership has published the latest report documenting community well-being
A corrections to start:
The June 12, 2026 newsletter had an incorrect spelling of the name of the plaintiff suing several Virginia government entities for allegedly receiving federal COVID loans on false pretenses including the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority. The plaintiff’s name is J. Bryan Quesenberry.
First-shout: Charlottesville Jazz Society wraps up Charlottesville Jazz Fest with a thank you
The inaugural Charlottesville Jazz Fest has come and gone and the Charlottesville Jazz Society is calling the four-day event a success. The organization would like to thank everyone who attended, volunteered, and supported the music with a donation.
Now the Charlottesville Jazz Society wants you to keep the good vibrations going by attending an upcoming show with area musicians. Here’s a glimpse of the calendar, and maybe I’ll see you out there!
Tuesday June 16: Tuesday Jazz with Jeff Massanari, Jeff/guitar, Liz Barnes/piano, Bob Bowen/bass, Pat Hayes/drums, Rapture, 6:30pm
Friday June 19: Ebony Groove at Fridays after Five, Ting Pavilion, 5:30pm
Tuesday June 23: Rhythm and Grace: A Tribute to Queens of Soul and R&B, hosted by the DEI Committee at The Center, featuring Richelle Claiborne, Ivan Orr and Band, 6-7:30pm
Tuesday June 23: Tuesday Jazz with Jeff Massanari, Jeff/guitar, special guest Stephanie Nakasian/voice and piano, Karl Kimmel/bass, Keith Willingham/drums, Rapture, 6:30pm
Sanders: Portable toilets and trash containers to be installed near Free Bridge encampment this week
Eight months have passed since the Charlottesville City Council agreed to spend $6.2 million on purchasing an office building on Holiday Drive as a site for a low-barrier shelter and facility that provides other services for those experiencing homelessness.
City Council has held two public meetings this spring with organizations in the “continuum of care” to program the facility. Charlottesville City Manager Sam Sanders said on June 15 that the groups are still working on an operational plan.
“They asked for six months and I gave them three months,” Sanders said. So end of August for the plan that we discussed.”
Those groups are the Blue Ridge Area Coalition for the Homeless, the Haven, and Peoples and Congregations Engaged in Ministry.
Charlottesville City Council briefed on low-barrier shelter by groups that provide the programming, March 27, 2026
Many details remain to be worked out for how three groups will work together at Charlottesville’s future low-barrier shelter, May 15, 2026
Sanders said the goal is to have a plan for how the facility will work for those who will be using its services.
“In addition to that, we’ve engaged additional experts in the field of looking at spaces, architects and others to try to help us see are there ways to adjust what we anticipate the cost to be to see if we can get that down,” Sanders said.
All of the members of the “continuum of care” are nonprofit organizations governed by people on Boards of Directors. City Councilor Lloyd Snook said he has been in conversation with some of them.
“I’ve talked to a number of people who are on the boards of those various agencies, and a number of them have said to me, in some fashion or another, I don’t know whether we’re all going to be able to get on the same page,” Snook said.
Snook wanted to know if at some point the city could take the leadership reins and make decisions.
“That’s what we’re doing,” Sanders said.
Councilor Michael Payne has stated that the encampment is unsafe and pointed to the death of an occupant earlier this month.
“The conditions are conducive to that kind of tragedy happening, and people remain in a floodway,” Payne said. “As we approach tropical storm season, flash-flood season, are there any timelines for the city assessing conditions that are so dangerous in terms of fire risk or health and human safety, [where] death is a real imminent risk given those conditions?”
Sanders said the city is looking at its options for removing people who are in places that are at risk including those closest to the river. An obstacle has been an unwillingness to cooperate from several businesses along the way.
Sanders had other updates as well.
Assistant City Manager Sam Roman and Human Services Director Misty Graves have met with the board of PACEM to open an emergency shelter as soon as possible. Sanders said this is not a guaranteed outcome.
Sanders said a handwashing station, a portable toilet, and a dumpster will be installed this week at city-owned property at 0 East High Street.
“We have continued to try to work with business owners in the area, but they have not been open to the idea of supporting an effort to put additional items in that general area,” Sanders said.
Sanders excluded the Rivanna River Company from that list saying that business is being helpful. The company rents from the city.
Sanders said the Blue Ridge Health District has been contacted about conditions in the encampment that affect both the residents living on public property and those who seek to walk along the Rivanna River on a public trail.
Today Sanders is meeting with the group SupportWorks Housing to see how they may be able to assist. The nonprofit organization owns the Crossing at 4th and Preston and is currently constructing an 80-unit supportive housing building on U.S. 29.
Meanwhile BRACH has posted a request for proposals for organizations who can provide two outreach coordinators.
“This role will focus on engaging unsheltered individuals, coordinating with local partners, and connecting people to shelter, rapid rehousing programs, and supportive services,” reads the RFP.
Submissions are due on June 29.
Council appoints one to Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority Board
For much of this year there have been two vacancies on the Board of Commissioners for the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority. The CRHA is in the midst of constructing new units at two locations as well as overseeing several dozen housing units co-owned with the City of Charlottesville.
City Council appoints members of the public to six of the seats and one of its own to a seventh. Last July, Council appointed Lise Clavel to one of the at-large seats but this person resigned for personal reasons in March.
On June 15, Council named a replacement.
“During closed session we voted to appoint Bridget Moss to the at-large position on the CRHA,” said Vice Chair Natalie Oschrin.
Another position remains vacant. Two of the seven slots are reserved for people living in a home owned and maintained by CRHA. Alice Washington died in the summer of 2025. Another at-large seat expires on June 30.
Mayor Juandiego Wade was not present at the meeting as he was traveling. More from the June 15 City Council in upcoming editions of the newsletter.
There will not be a regular meeting on July 6.
Second shout-out: Charlottesville E-bike Lending Library
The rolling topography of the Charlottesville area might keep some people away from choosing cycling as an option to get around. Perhaps an e-bike is in order?
That’s where Charlottesville’s eBike Lending Library comes in! E-bikes are a great way to get around the community but there are many brands and styles to choose from. Because many e-bikes are sold online, it can be a challenge to try an e-bike before buying one.
The Charlottesville E-bike Lending Library is a free, not-for-profit service working to expand access to e-bikes in the area. They have a small collection of e-bikes that they lend out to community members for up to a week, for free. You can experience your daily commute, go grocery shopping, or even bike your kids to school, and decide whether e-bikes are right for you. Check out this service for yourself!
UVA partnership tracks youth and family well-being in recent Stepping Stones report
A research group at the University of Virginia created in 2019 has published the latest report on the well-being of children and families in Albemarle County and Charlottesville. The UVA Center for Community Partnerships reviewed more than thirty datasets to describe the state of youth development.
“The goal is to create a data-informed understanding of our collective trajectory, encourage dialogue, and promote action to improve the lives of all who reside in our community,” reads the executive summary of the 54-page Stepping Stones Report.
There are four categories of measurements and they are; Education; Economic and Family Stability; Health; and School and Community Disciplinary Actions.
This work dates back to 2000 when the now-defunct Charlottesville/Albemarle Commission on Children and Families published the first one. The city’s Department of Human Services took over the research and in 2023 the UVA center joined the partnership with Charlottesville and Albemarle County.
The first education metric listed is Kindergarten Readiness as measured by benchmarks in social skills, literacy, self-regulation, and mathematics.
“In the most recent fall assessment, 59 percent of Albemarle kindergartners and 58 percent of Charlottesville kindergartners met the overall readiness benchmark,” reads page 6 of the report.
The report also traces Standards of Learning scores over time. These were not administered in 2020 due to the COVID shutdown and the data for math scores dropped sharply in the gap year. For instance, 83 percent of Virginia students in 5th grade passed the math SOL in 2018-2019 and that dropped to 50 percent statewide in 2020-2021.
Albemarle students were at the statewide average in 2018-2019 but dropped to 63 percent in the first after testing resumed. The number has climbed higher to 74 percent in the 2024-2025 year.
Only 40 percent of 5th grade students in Charlottesville schools passed the math SOL in 2018-2019 and that dropped to 32 percent in 2020-2021. That number rebounded to 60 percent in 2024-2025.
The report also tracks absenteeism.
“In the years following the initial onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of chronic absenteeism in schools throughout the U.S. have skyrocketed: national-level data shows that rates of chronic absenteeism in U.S. schools increased from 15 percent in 2019 to 26 percent in 2023,” reads page 10 of the report.
Albemarle County Public Schools have followed that trend but have made efforts. In 2022-2023 18 percent of students were considered chronically absent but the figure dropped to 12 percent in 2024-2025. That same year, 21 percent of Charlottesville students met the description.
The Economic and Family Stability section begins on page 16 and the first metric regards income for families with children.
“According to United for ALICE the amount an average family needs to meet basic needs in 2023 was $75,124 in Albemarle and $68,703 in Charlottesville,” reads the report.
Data comes from the Census Bureau’s American Community Service and the report notes this has a degree of uncertainty to it. Data from 2024 shows that the median income with families with children was nearly $140,000 in Albemarle and $113,000 in Charlottesville.
Another metric is the number of children living in poverty. In 2024 that is defined federally as having an income of $31,200 for a family of four.
“In Charlottesville in 2024, the percent of children in poverty was the lowest it has been in the last decade, at 15 percent, but still remained higher than in Virginia overall,” reads the report. “The child poverty rate in Albemarle is consistently lower than that in the state, and has remained near its lowest rate in recent years, at 7 percent in 2024.”
Other metrics under this section include investigations by Child Protective Services, children in foster care, and students experiencing homelessness.
The Health section includes metrics on prenatal care, low birth-weight babies, teen pregnancy and infant mortality.
“The infant mortality rate has risen in Albemarle since 2016, growing to a high for the period of around 6 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022, the most recent year with an available 3 year average value,” reads page 31 of the report. “In Charlottesville, the infant mortality rate has fluctuated over the period, with a high average in 2016 of 7 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. In the most recent year with an available 3 year average, the rate was around 5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births.”
The School and Community Disciplinary Actions tracks in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, children in need of supervision, juvenile delinquency judgements for youths, and arrests for violent crimes.
“Arrest rates in both Albemarle and Charlottesville have seen a mostly downward trend since 2010,” reads page 43 of the report. “In Charlottesville the arrest rate was 5 per 1,000 youth in 2011 and has gone down to 0 recorded in 2024.”
There’s a separate metric for arrests for crimes involving firearms.
All of the data can be found on GitHub.
Articles by other journalists you are encouraged to read next:
Microsoft’s Clean Energy Reversal Collides With Virginia’s Climate Goals, Charles Paullin, Inside Climate News, June 15, 2026
The House and Senate both released new budget [and] here’s how they align and diverge, Virginia Mercury, June 15, 2026
Northern Virginia residents and lawmakers sound off on data centers in town hall, Christian Flores, WJLA-TV, June 16, 2026
#1071 is a heptagonal number
I had nothing written at the beginning of the workday at 7 a.m. and now it is past 10 a.m. and I said I would note post after that so I’m keeping the end note to this one paragraph and I won’t even ramble much except to say thank you to paid subscribers!
I am not fed up with my job but a friend of mine is as I hit publish.