There was a forum meeting yesterday in part of the downstairs ballroom of the Altria Theater about the homeless and the future of Monroe Park. It became very crowded and more chairs were brought in. It was kind of weird as lots of loud laughter was heard on the other side of the partition where I guess there was another gathering of some sort.

After an introduction by Debra D. Gardner, Richmond’s deputy chief administrative officer for human services, the director of Homeward, the planning and coordinating organization for homeless services in the greater Richmond region, presented some statistics and polling data.

After a few questions were asked about this presentation, the meeting moved into a panel by the leaders or representatives of several area homeless service providers.

One question that was not given a definitive answer was whether homeless service providers would be allowed in Monroe Park after renovations were done. The Monroe Park Conservancy was there, as was the Mayor’s representative, VCU representatives, and Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Facities Norman Merifield, yet they all stayed mum on what protocol will be after the renovation.