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program will be robust enough to work,” says Campbell. “It’s not window dressing—this is an actual real program that will help people.”
Since last summer, DSA volunteers have visited tenants with eviction cases on the docket in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, informing them of their legal rights and connecting them with rent relief programs.
“A lot of people we canvass don’t know the [moratorium] is in place…[or] that they are being evicted until a DSA volunteer knocks on their door,” says Campbell.
From July 14 to March 9, DSA observed 142 of the 259 eviction hearings that occurred in Charlottesville. Around half of the tenants did not show up, and half of those hearings resulted in an eviction judgment. Only around 8 percent of tenants who attended their hearings came with an attorney.
These few fared much better in court— their cases were either dismissed or set for trial, instead of resulting in an eviction. Meanwhile, nearly 30 percent of tenants without legal representation were evicted, and almost 50 percent had their cases continued or set for trial.
Charlottesville’s long history of systemic racism and wealth inequality makes the eviction crisis a racial justice issue too. More than half of the tenants facing eviction were Black, reflecting a much higher risk of eviction for Black families than white families.
According to DSA activists, the federal eviction moratorium has been weakened by loopholes. Landlords are still able evict tenants for reasons besides non-payment of rent, such as noise complaints. They can also refuse to renew the leases of tenants they want to evict.
In Charlottesville, LAJC currently takes on a limited number of eviction cases, typically those involving public housing residents.
“The way that we’ve been doing it is kind of a triage approach, [helping] people who are in the worst-case scenarios,” explains Deputy Director for Advocacy Elaine Poon. Because Charlottesville has 500 to 700 eviction filings a year, “it’s just not enough people to handle them.”
City Councilor Lloyd Snook says he recognizes the dire need for a right-to-counsel program in Charlottesville. While managing his private law firm, he often received calls from residents facing eviction who needed legal representation, but most of them could not afford it.
He agrees the program should be run by LAJC, and hopes the city can collaborate with Albemarle County, which is set to receive $21.2 million in ARP funds.
“When somebody is getting evicted, they may not even know if they’re living in the city or county,” says Snook. “We ought to approach the problem in a unified kind of way.”
But to keep evictions from happening in the first place, housing activists continue to emphasize the critical need for affordable housing in the Charlottesville area.
“One of the reasons that this is such a crisis is because people are spending so much of their income on rent,” says Campbell. “Affordable housing is the long-term goal.”
This is our shot
Vaccine appointments open to all adults
By Brielle Entzminger
reporter@c-ville.com
After months of reporting on the local COVID-19 vaccine rollout, I finally received the email I had patiently been waiting for: I was eligible to get the shot. I scheduled my appointment and headed over to the vaccination clinic inside the former JCPenney at Fashion Square Mall the next day. The long Moderna line moved quickly enough, and I was out the door around two hours later, with a pink bandaid on my arm, a vaccine card in my hand, and a huge smile on my face.
For many in the Charlottesville area, the anxious wait for a vaccine will also soon be over.
On April 12, the Blue Ridge Health District moved into phase 2 of vaccine distribution, meaning all residents age 16 and older are now eligible to receive a free jab. Those who want one must pre-register with the Virginia Department of Health, and wait for an email or phone call from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention inviting them to schedule an appointment. Vaccine appointments may also be available directly from local pharmacies.
“All vaccine appointments will remain by appointment only,” says health district spokesman Jason Elliott. “Maybe one day down the line we’ll have the option to expand to walk-ins, but that’s going to depend on a consistent supply [and] other factors.”
Because the Charlottesville area has a high population of health care workers and senior citizens, it took the health district much longer to move through the rollout’s initial phases than other parts of the state, Elliott says.
“One of the biggest challenges that we’ve had...is limited vaccine supply,” he says of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. “Even though we had staffing and people who wanted the vaccine, we didn’t necessarily have enough vaccines to make all of those moving parts come together.”
There have been other kinks in the complicated rollout process. Since vaccines became more widely available, area residents jockeyed for position in the virtual vaccine lines, traveling to other localities to seek shots. Recently, some mixed messaging from the state sent waves of central Virginia residents south to a Danville mass vaccination site, only for the state to halt walk-ins at the clinic a few days later.
In Charlottesville, vaccine seekers at the JCPenney site, and its predecessor in the old Kmart parking lot, have occasionally experienced long lines.
There have been small-scale technical difficulties, too. Last week the Blue Ridge Health District tweeted an apology for an email that erroneously told users their vaccine appointments had been canceled.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which was temporarily halted on April 13 due to a
Percent of population with COVID-19 vaccinations
50%
40% 45% 49%
VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 30%
20% 37%
22% 23% 28%
10%
0
1 dose 2 doses 1 dose 2 doses 1 dose 2 doses
Virginia Charlottesville Albemarle
Almost half of area residents have had at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine.
“One of the things that we’re seeing is that some people who didn’t want [the vaccine] before, are deciding that they do want it now.”
JASON ELLIOTT, BLUE RIDGE HEALTH DISTRICT SPOKESMAN
rare type of blood clot, had significantly sped up the vaccine rollout. Before the pause, BRHD administered several thousand doses of that vaccine each week. Of the almost 7 million doses of the J&J vaccine given in the United States, six women, between the ages of 18 and 48, reported clotting symptoms six to 13 days after vaccination.
Per the Virginia Department of Health’s latest data, around 20,000 Charlottesville residents—almost half of the city’s population—have received at least one dose of the three vaccines, and around 10,000 are fully vaccinated. In Albemarle, nearly half of the county’s population—around 53,000 people—have also received one dose, and around 30,000 are fully vaccinated.
Across Virginia, about 3,100,000 residents—36 percent of the state population— have received at least one dose, and about 1,800,000—21 percent of the population— are fully vaccinated. On average, nearly 75,000 vaccine doses are administered each day. The commonwealth currently ranks 13th out of 50 states in percent of residents who have received at least one shot, according to The New York Times.
In addition to administering vaccines at its Seminole Square and Fashion Square Mall sites, BRHD will continue to host at least one vaccine clinic in every locality within its jurisdiction per month, in an effort to reach residents living in rural areas.
To get the vaccine out to Black and Latinx communities, the health district has partnered with an array of community organizations to host clinics in neighborhoods, apartment complexes, churches, and other easily accessible locations. It’s also hired Spanish speakers to staff its COVID-19 hotline.
It currently remains unclear how long it will take to vaccinate every adult in the health district and the state.
“One of the things that we’re seeing is that some people who didn’t want [the vaccine] before, are deciding that they do want it now,” Elliott says.
The CDC reports the current vaccine options are highly effective at preventing people from contracting the virus and developing severe symptoms, and may keep them from spreading the virus to others. The vaccine also offers protection against several super-infectious variant strains.
Per the CDC’s recommendations, it is safe for fully vaccinated people to socialize without a mask with other fully vaccinated people in a private setting. They may also travel domestically and internationally without a pre- or post-travel test (depending on the international destination), and without quarantining after travel.
However, fully vaccinated people should still wear a mask in public and around highrisk people, practice social distancing, wash their hands regularly, and avoid attending large gatherings, says the CDC.
“It’s really important, while we’re all becoming vaccinated, to remember not everyone around us is and that we’re still in this,” says Elliot.
To preregister for the vaccine, visit vaccinate. virginia.gov or call (877)VAX-IN-VA.
Summer of love?
Governor speeds up marijuana legalization
By Ben Hitchcock
editor@c-ville.com
Virginia’s marijuana legalization law will go into effect on July 1, making the Old Dominion the 16th state in the nation and the first state in the South to legalize adult recreational cannabis use.
The state’s Democratic-controlled legislature passed an initial marijuana legalization bill in February, then sent it to Governor Ralph Northam for approval. Northam returned the bill with a series of amendments, and last week the legislature voted to approve those changes.
The gov’s amendments accelerated the legalization process significantly. The version of the bill that passed the General Assembly in February would have made adult recreational use legal starting
“Marijuana laws were explicitly designed to target communities of color, and Black Virginians are disproportionately likely to be stopped, charged, and convicted.”
of marijuana—but officially sealed containers don’t exist yet, as state-sanctioned distributors won’t be in action until 2024. The final version of the bill includes some important criminal justice provisions aimed at redressing the state’s long history of racist implementation of drug laws. The law says that all misdemeanor marijuana possession charges will be automatically expunged, and those with marijuana felonies will be able to petition for expungement. The General Assembly delayed making a decision on what to do about those currently serving time for marijuana-related crimes. The commonwealth stands to make a tremendous amount of money from taxes on marijuana sales, with early estimates suggesting $300 million over the first five years of legalization. The governor did not change the initially proposed disbursement plan for those funds. Forty percent will be devoted to preschool programs for at-risk kids, 30 percent will be placed in a new Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund, 25 percent will go to substance abuse treatment programs, and 5 percent will be left for public health programs in general. The General Assembly will continue to iron out details in the legalization process during its session next year. In a statement after the bill’s passage, Northam said he was pleased that the state’s “framework for legalization focuses on public health, public safety, and equity.” “Marijuana laws were explicitly designed in 2024, with the delay giving the state to target communities of color,” he said, time to establish a new agency to oversee “and Black Virginians are disproportionsales of marijuana products. Northam’s ately likely to be stopped, charged, and amendments make simple possession convicted. Today, Virginia took a critical legal beginning this summer. step to right these wrongs and restore
The vote on final bill was deadlocked 20- justice to those harmed by decades of 20 in the state Senate, with Democrat Chap over-criminalization.” Petersen of Fairfax joining all 19 Republicans in opposition to the legislation. Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax stepped in to break the tie in favor of passage.
The bill does include a few contradictions. If possession is legal this summer but sales aren’t allowed until 2024, how are law-abiding stoners supposed to get their herb? One way is to pick up the fertilizer. It’ll be legal to grow up to four marijuana plants beginning July 1, and it’ll be legal to receive the drug as a gift MARK WARNER FLICKR from a grower. Marijuana legalization will go into effect three years earlier
You’re also not supposed to than initially planned after Governor Northam amended the drive with unsealed containers General Assembly’s bill.
UNWANTED MEDICATIONS & SHARPS
Free Collection and Disposal
Bring your unwanted household medications and sharps (syringes) to our FREE drive-through event at Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital. We will accept any unwanted prescription or over-the-counter medications and syringes. To be accepted, household medical sharps (syringes and needles) must be in a puncture-proof container, such as a laundry detergent bottle or red sharps container. All medications will be handled by the Albemarle County Police Department and properly destroyed. No medical waste from commercial organizations will be accepted. For information on our permanent Drug Drop Off Box, please call the Outpatient Pharmacy at 434-654-3350.
SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2021
10:00 A.M. TO 2:00 P.M.
Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital
Patient Transport Area in Back of Hospital Peter Jefferson Parkway (Near State Farm)
SAFETY MEASURES DUE TO COVID-19:
• Facemasks are required • You will not be allowed to exit your vehicle (separate medications from sharps before you arrive) • Do not come if you are not feeling well and/or have a fever, cough, sore throat or difficulty breathing
For more information, call 1-800-SENTARA (1-800-736-8272) or visit sentara.com
