Richmond council approves shelter, family crisis and opioid fund amendments

Overview

Updated Sep 28

Richmond's City Council has approved roughly $1.6 million in budget adjustments that keep the city's winter shelter running and take in new opioid settlement money. On Sept. 28, after a public hearing, the council adopted ordinances giving CARITAS $844,143 for its surge overflow shelter and warming center and moving $100,000 to ACTS to run the Family Crisis Fund. On Oct. 13 it adopted a third, accepting $614,406 in opioid settlement funds.

The reallocations fine-tune the $3.4 billion FY2027 budget the council adopted in May. At the Sept. 28 hearing, one resident backed the CARITAS funding but questioned the ACTS transfer, while another supported climate resilience grants.

Why it matters

The adopted funds keep Richmond's winter shelter beds open this season and bring new opioid settlement money into the city budget.

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Key Indicators

$844,143

Transferred to CARITAS

Funds surge overflow shelter and warming center operations.

$614,406

Opioid settlement funds accepted

Virginia settlement money restricted to abatement and remediation.

$100,000

Transferred to ACTS for Family Crisis Fund

Administration of the family services program, questioned by one resident.

$3.4B

FY2027 total city budget

Adopted by council on May 11, 2026; these amendments adjust it.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Danny Avula

Mayor of Richmond

Submitted the proposed FY2027 budget the council is now amending

Todd Pillion

Chair, Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority board

Oversees distribution of 55% of Virginia's opioid settlement funds

Organizations Involved

Richmond City Council

Municipal legislative body

Adopted FY2027 budget amendments

The city's nine-member legislative body, which reviews and amends the mayor's proposed budget.

Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority

State agency

Distributes 55% of Virginia's opioid settlement funds to local programs

State agency created in 2021 to oversee the majority of Virginia's opioid settlement money.

CARITAS

Nonprofit

Recipient of $844,143 for surge shelter and warming center operations

Richmond nonprofit providing shelter, recovery, and workforce services to people experiencing homelessness.

ACTS

Organization

Administrator of the Family Crisis Fund

Organization selected to administer Richmond's Family Crisis Fund.

Timeline

2021 October 2026

8 events Latest: October 13th, 2026 · 4 weeks ago

Tap a bar to jump to that date

October 2026
Council accepts $614,406 in opioid settlement funds
Latest Vote

Ord. 2026-275 accepts National Opioid Settlement funds after the Education and Human Services committee recommended approval on Oct. 8.
October 13th, 2026
September 2026
Council holds hearing on budget amendments
Hearing

Public comment on CARITAS shelter funds, opioid settlement acceptance, and the Family Crisis Fund transfer.
September 28th, 2026
Council adopts CARITAS and ACTS amendments
Vote

Ord. 2026-204 sends $844,143 to CARITAS for the surge shelter and warming center; Ord. 2026-203 moves $100,000 to ACTS for the Family Crisis Fund.
September 28th, 2026
June 2026
OAA approves $35.2M in new opioid grants
Funding

Authority backs 150 projects across Virginia for FY2027, its largest award round to date.
June 16th, 2026
May 2026
Council adopts $3.4B FY2027 budget
Vote

Council approves a balanced city budget for the fiscal year starting July 1.
May 11th, 2026
March 2026
Mayor submits FY2027 budget proposal
Proposal

Danny Avula delivers the proposed $3.4 billion budget to the council.
March 11th, 2026
January 2022
Virginia opioid settlement payments begin
Funding

Payments start; total expected to exceed $1.1 billion by 2041.
January 1st, 2022
2021
Virginia creates Opioid Abatement Authority
Legislation

General Assembly establishes the OAA to oversee 55% of Virginia's opioid settlement funds.
2021

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

November 1998

Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (1998)

46 states signed a settlement with the four largest tobacco companies worth $206 billion over 25 years, meant to recover smoking-related health costs. Participating states agreed to use the money for tobacco control and prevention.

Then

States began receiving annual payments in 2000 and often used them to close budget gaps.

Now

By the 2010s, only a small share of settlement money went to tobacco prevention; most was diverted to general funds or unrelated programs.

Why this matters now

The opioid settlements follow the same structure: large, restricted-use payouts spread over decades. Richmond's choice to direct its share to shelters and abatement programs, rather than general spending, echoes the tobacco decision — and carries the same risk of diversion down the road.

March 2020

CARES Act local funding (2020)

The $2.2 trillion CARES Act sent one-time federal aid to cities, much of it used for emergency shelter, rental assistance, and homelessness services as the pandemic hit. Richmond used funds to expand shelter capacity and hotel programs.

Then

Cities rapidly scaled up shelter capacity during the pandemic.

Now

When the one-time funds expired, many programs closed or required new local money to survive.

Why this matters now

Opioid settlement funds are similarly finite and restricted. Richmond's decision on how to spend its share, and whether to build ongoing programs around it, reflects the same budget-cliff risk that followed the CARES money.