by Linda Salisbury

The reasons for their needs vary, but they can be boiled down to lacking the funds to pay for housing. Some are working people who can’t earn enough to pay for rentals. Others are veterans with PTSD, evicted renters, victims of domestic abuse, or people dealing with mental illness.

Some of these individuals live in their cars or sleep in tents, on the sheriff’s department floor, or in laundromats. Others have been found under bridges or in the loading docks of local stores. Without a homeless shelter or temporary warming centers in the county, their options to be warm and safe are limited.

Members of churches and community organizations have gathered data and have been working with county officials to see what can be done to approve warming centers for homeless residents. The process has gone on now for more than two years, with discussions by the planning commission about zoning codes that so far have not come up with a solution. Advocates for the warming centers have spoken out at hearings and privately with supervisors and members of the planning commission.

The Loyalty Inn is the only motel near downtown Louisa. When the inn’s rooms are available, they cost about $100 per night depending on the number of people. Churches, individuals and agencies such as the Louisa Homeless Coalition contribute about $5,000 per year to house those in need at the inn. This is a costly endeavor for these area advocates and organizations.

If the warming centers are approved, volunteers at the church-based centers would provide the beds and food for the overnight stays when subzero weather arrives in the winter. In addition to organizations, Sue Frankel-Streit is among those who have contributed personally to pay for the homeless to have a warm night’s stay at the inn. Additionally, some local police officers have paid out of their own pockets for motel rooms for the homeless.

Not everyone in the county supports the warming centers. Concerns that have been brought to various levels of government and during numerous meetings have dealt with code issues. A CUP is needed to allow churches to provide shelters. This past summer, the Louisa County Planning Commission was working on a definition for “Humanitarian Shelters” and was reviewing the CUP process as it might apply to religious institutions. Churches have been told that they can be fined $100 if they violate regulations.

For this article, Louisa County administrators were called on June 27 for comments but did not return the call. On June 30, George Goodwin, Cuckoo district representative on the planning commission, replied to questions about how the situation involving the warming sessions might be resolved.“There has been so much misinformation and misunderstanding about this issue and the process that I am hesitant to add to the confusion by having my words [in the email] used to make a point other than the one I would like people to know,” he stated.

Objectors think the warming centers would draw drug and alcohol addicts, sex offenders, and out-of-county residents. There are also concerns that these centers would produce noise and other problems if churches operate them in residential neighborhoods.

Lin Kogle, head of the Louisa Community Emergency Fund, disagrees. “According to data, people experiencing homelessness are far more likely to be victims of violent crime than to commit violent crime,” she said. “The majority of people with no home also have no mental health or substance use disorder.”

Those proposing the warming centers say they have developed a strict vetting process that will not allow people with those types of background issues to participate. Frankel-Streit added that only Louisa County residents would be taken in.

“We are developing the vetting process in order to allow children and vulnerable populations to utilize the shelters,” McWilliams added. “We will offer a different kind of shelter than PACEM [People and Congregations Engaged in Ministry] in Charlottesville.” So far, mostly rural churches are involved, but about six others are making donations.

To better assess the numbers and causes of homelessness in Louisa County, a concerned group decided to participate in a detailed housing and urban development study. Kogle, at that time a member of the Louisa Homeless Coalition, said that it was time that “we did an official count” using a point-in-time study.

According to Kogle, participants in the research group one night found 30 homeless, and the schools reported in 2024 that schools counted 50 homeless families with 65 children in the school system. The point-in-time study gathered county housing and rental costs, personal stories, and possible solutions for those in need. Once the detailed report was finished in 2024, a copy was given to the county supervisors. Updates have since been provided during public comments at government sessions.

As community groups continue to work on long-term solutions, about seven churches in the summer of 2025 were willing to open their doors for the night under careful restrictions.

Other counties and cities such as Charlottesville have designed programs to provide warming shelters for those in need. According to the homelessness group’s website, “PACEM is a grassroots organization that coordinates space and volunteers to shelter for individuals in our community who are experiencing homelessness.

“More than 80 faith congregations and community groups and 3,000 volunteers in the Charlottesville area come together each winter to address the need for shelter by opening their doors, serving evening meals, giving financially, and providing companionship. PACEM… believes that a welcoming, safe place to shelter is the first step to addressing the crisis of homelessness.”

Members of the Louisa Homeless Coalition and others would like to see PACEM as a model for what can be done locally, but with a few adjustments to meet the area’s unique needs.

In addition to Kogle and McWilliams, area residents ready to help include Duane Sergent, owner of Divine Nature Helping. Sergent’s company grows herbs and plants, makes salsa, and constructs crafts with the proceeds given to charity. He’s also a volunteer with the Louisa Homeless Coalition as is Frankel-Streit, a former adult education teacher.

The call to help can start early in life.

At age 12, McWilliams learned valuable lessons from his mother about loving humanity as a way of glorifying God. He soon became a volunteer at a homeless shelter, which opened his eyes to people and their needs. McWilliams believes that it is the constitutional right of churches to take in those in need. He and others have stated that providing shelter and aid is what Jesus calls people to do, and the government should not forbid it.

Churches such as Yanceyville Christian and Zion United Methodist have been planning how the warming centers would work. McWilliams said that through the work of volunteers, each warming center would take a small number of people overnight, provide a meal, and offer an opportunity to wash up. Center guests would be awakened, given breakfast to go, and leave either in their own vehicles or other transportation – perhaps to a job.

McWilliams added that his personal experiences have given him specific examples about the need for shelters in the county. One person he met had been evicted for failing to pay her rent four days after it was due. As was typical, she didn’t get her Supplemental Security Income check until four days after the rent was due. She had always paid it immediately upon receiving the funds. This woman is now homeless due to her lack of financial ability to pay for the first and last month’s rent in a new place.

According to McWilliams, the average rent in Louisa County is $2,000 per month. Kogle added that a mobile home park charges $800 per month. In July, Zillow – an online real estate database – reported that Louisa County home prices averaged $411,678, and rent averaged $2,300 per month.

McWilliams shared another example of someone without funds. A man had been caring for his grandmother for years while living in her house. She died, so he had to move out. Because he hadn’t been compensated for his caregiving, the man had no savings to pay for housing when he was on his own.

“So, despite the planning commission’s overly legislated code, as a pastor and human being, I will continue to be obedient to Christ by meeting the needs of my neighbors experiencing homelessness,” McWilliams said. “At the end of the day, I would rather endure a monetary fine than to allow someone to freeze to death this winter.”