On September 1, the City of Charlottesville will clear an encampment that has grown along the Charlottesville bank of the Rivanna River, at Free Bridge and 0 East High St. Residents of the encampment — some of whom have lived there for two or three years — will be forced to leave and will not be allowed to return to camping in the area, which is located along a public trail.
“Effective Sept. 1, anyone currently on that property is subject to arrest and prosecution,” Charlottesville Police Department’s Public Safety Information Officer Kyle Ervin told Charlottesville Tomorrow in an email on Aug. 24. “CPD hopes individuals currently at the encampment avail themselves to the services of 2000 Holiday Drive.”
That’s where the city will open an emergency shelter, also on Sept. 1, City Manager Sam Sanders confirmed to Charlottesville Tomorrow in an email on Aug. 25. People displaced from the encampment will be able to go there, but many encampment residents are skeptical. They say that they’ve been in the dark about who will run the shelter and how…