What happened to their possessions?

That’s what Rhonda Sneed wants to know on behalf of the former residents of Cathy’s Camp, the tent city that was demolished by the city in March, with most of the former residents moved to area hotels and motels.

“I’ve been trying to reach any city official, the mayor, council persons, to inform us where the belongings of the residents of the camp are,” Ms. Sneed posted late last week on Facebook.

The leader of Blessing Warriors RVA who helped establish the camp, Ms. Sneed noted that “when the camp was destroyed, (the city cleanup crew) took IDs, birth certificates, medical documents, family photos.

“Some people who have had no idea where family members are had their only memories of them taken,” she stated.

Residents who were moved from the camp were given time to collect only some of their possessions and were not allowed to return to collect the remainder, Ms. Sneed said in a follow-up interview.

During the removal, the crew had a trash truck on site into which everything was placed, an indication that it was sent to a landfill. Mayor Levar M. Stoney and his administration did not respond to a Free Press request for information on the possessions.

A statement was issued Monday on behalf of Kelly King Horne, executive director of Homeward, the organization that coordinates homeless services in the Richmond region. The city has contracted with Homeward to provide shelter to people who were living at the camp and to other homeless individuals in the city.

The statement read, “Unsheltered individuals offered safe indoor accommodations were allowed and encouraged to take all of their belongings with them. Transportation was provided for the individuals and their belongings. No individual reported missing articles or documents to case managers.”

According to the statement, “Homeward employs a document navigator to assist people experiencing homelessness (including those who were staying in the tent city) in obtaining necessary documents.”