City Hall is moving forward in trying to find nonprofits or churches and other faith-based groups with available space to house homeless people, at least during the winter.

Sherrill Hampton, director of housing and community development, issued a notice that the city had $3 million federal funds to spend over the next two years to support the operation of one or more inclement weather shelters, particularly Nov. 1 to April 15, the cold weather period. The shelters also could operate during days of extreme heat or major storms, the notice stated.

However, the notice that Ms. Hampton issued did not specify the number of beds that the city was seeking to fund.

Two members of City Council, Stephanie A. Lynch, 5th District, and Dr. Michael J. Jones, 9th District, said they were told that the city would support up to 150 beds.

Ms. Hampton did not respond to a Free Press query.

If the council members are correct, the 150 beds would represent a 50 percent increase from the 100 beds that Ms. Hampton told council’s Education and Human Services Committee on July 14 that the city would pay for – leaving others to fend for themselves.

Ms. Lynch, who chairs the committee, called the policy “heartless” during the committee meeting in noting that 100 beds would fall far short of the need for space to keep people from freezing to death.

During the past winter, the city paid for shelter for more than 300 people each night, including families with children, in two locations after cold weather set in and all the spaces in existing shelters were filled.

Ms. Lynch said she is pushing the administration to go even bigger — but one big problem is finding buildings that can serve as shelter.

Applications are due to Ms. Hampton’s office Aug. 25.

The Free Press has learned that the administration had begun talks with Liberation Church, 5501 Midlothian Turnpike, about providing space to serve as a centralized shelter, much as the former Conrad Center and vacant Public Safety Building did in years past.

However, that plan appears to have faltered due to opposition Dr. Jones, who also is a minister.

Dr. Jones said Tuesday he supports a decentralized approach rather than having one place shelter all of the homeless, particularly if the site is located in his district.

If the city is seeking space for 150 people, “that is a lot of people in one place facing life’s challenges,” he said, particularly when they would be housed on the Midlothian corridor which he said is already notorious for prostitution and drug sales.

He said he could support 25 to 30 people being housed at Liberation. In his view, the city needs to find six or seven locations willing to accept similar numbers so that.

He said having smaller groups would allow the city and nonprofits to provide better wrap-around services to enable those served to get on their feet.

Ms. Lynch, a social worker, is frustrated by the difficulty in locating space for a year-round shelter.

At Monday night’s council meeting, she listened to Dr. Jones and other speakers, including the Rev. Gwen C. Hedgepeth, a former council member, push back against the use of the Liberation Church.

“We can’t keep playing shuffleboard with people’s lives,” Ms. Lynch told her colleagues. “These are human beings.” She said she would welcome a central shelter being located in her district, if a space could be found, although she acknowledged that no buildings large enough to serve so many people at one time have turned up in her district.

Council President Cynthia I. Newbille said the issue of providing shelter during the winter is serious enough to warrant a special meeting in mid-August. A date is still being determined.