NORFOLK, Va. — On Saturday, many homeless people who set up tents along 19th street in Norfolk had to leave the area and relocate.
Katrina Freeman, creator of the non-profit Hashtag Keep VA Warm learned of the news and stepped in to help.
“I got a phone call yesterday that the city served the individuals notice that they had 24 hours to pack up their items and move and that they were obstructing the walkway and they had to remove their items," said Freeman.
She took pictures of the notices on 19th street. Freeman has helped provide resources to the homeless community for more than a year.
“So I wanted to create a resource that will be able to help them and also provide some type of love and support for them," said Freeman.
The City of Norfolk’s Director of Communications Lori Crouch confirmed the city sent out the letters on Friday. The letter states that the Community Services Board Outreach Team is offering assistance for their relocation to the temporary homeless shelter at the old Greyhound bus station.
Individuals have until May 28th to check into the shelter with the letter provided.
Freeman said she is helping people during the transition too. She purchased some hotel rooms for people to stay in, along with a storage facility to give them a place to keep their belongings.
“We are going to be transporting them from here to that location as well as storing their items in storage. We had another community partner that donated a storage unit for them to be able to move their items," explained Freeman.
Crouch said if any other tents are left behind, they will be picked up on Monday. The city will place them in storage for people to pick up.
Crouch said they have more than 60 people inside the temporary homeless shelter, and they are not turning anyone away.