The shelter’s previous home, in the decrepit city-owned Public Safety Building on North Ninth Street, drew criticism for inhumane conditions. Mayor Levar Stoney’s administration relocated the shelter to the Annie Giles Center in Shockoe Valley in 2018 in what it called a “temporary solution.” Since then, no permanent location has been secured.

This year, Sneed and her friend, Cathy Davis, decided to put the tents up. It started with a few. By mid-January there were more than 70, and Davis was gone. She died in her sleep late last year. Sneed and other volunteers have pressed on. They renamed the camp in Davis’ memory.

Sneed’s group set rules forbidding drinking or drug use and requiring attendance at community meetings. They paid to have two portable toilets brought to the site, which is located on property owned by Virginia Commonwealth University. They have urged people to pick up litter and keep the area clean.

The efforts have fostered community and provided stability that has helped people find new jobs and housing, Sneed said.

One, Sherwood Jasper, has experienced stints of homelessness over nine years. Sneed invited him to stay in one of the tents after meeting him shortly before Thanksgiving. Since then, he got a job at Virginia Union University.