Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Facets has made great strides since 1988, but the vision "is a long way from being realized."
In 2011, Lisa Kennedy lost her job. Along with it, Kennedy, a single mother, lost a way to make ends meet. Soon, she couldn't pay the rent. But she tried: For the next year, Kennedy was in a state of flux, hopping from job to job but often finding herself without a paycheck. What Kennedy needed was help on a path to more steady employment — and she got it through Bridging Affordability, a Fairfax County service that helps the area's most in-need residents establish better self-sufficiency, safe housing and a more stable life. Today, Kennedy and her daughter live in a two-bedroom apartment. She has a regular part-time job and is also pursuing a business degree. “The goal, of course, is to be self sufficient, and this program is helping me …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Fairfax County human services officials say more funds are needed for housing and other programs.
Fairfax County officials have said the impacts of sequestration are largely unknown, but for some of the county's low-income residents that's no longer true: Last week, the cuts forced the county to stop issuing Section 8 vouchers for affordable housing to families in need. Officials say that up to 150 families in the county might not be getting housing vouchers that will help them pay their rent. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides funding to the county for the program, but the budget sequester has put that in jeopardy. The county stopped issuing vouchers earlier this month and while some residents were able to get help at the last minute, others might not be so fortunate. These cuts directly impact organizations…
Friday, April 5, 2013
Officials will highlight successes, challenges in full report to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments on April 10.
Fairfax County’s homeless population has declined 12 percent in the last year and 26 percent since 2007, according to a new report from the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Partnership to Prevent and End Homelessness. The Connection reports that according to agency’s annual “point-in-time” survey, the number of homeless people in the county has decreased by 184, from 1,534 in 2012 to 1,350 in 2013. The number of homeless has also decreased by 463 since 2007, down from 1,813. The count was conducted over a one-day period in January, per requirements from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Only people who are literally homeless and living in shelters, transitional housing or on the street are counted in the survey. This …
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Volunteers are visiting homeless at camp sites this week at the crack of dawn.
"Boy, when you guys said 6 a.m., you weren't kidding," said Chris P. from behind his plywood front door at a campsite along Eisenhower Avenue near the border of the City of Alexandria and Fairfax County. There was a harvest moon Monday morning, and it was cold, about 32 degrees, and dark. Five Fairfax County volunteers walked into Chris's campsite near Interstate 495 and Eisenhower Avenue with flashlights, hot coffee and clipboards. "Good morning! Hello!" said volunteer Joe Drach as he walked up to a tent at the small campsite, which included a fire pit, a full clothesline and a three-foot mound of broken glass from smashed beer bottles. Feral cats scampered about with familiarity, and the ground was littered with dozens of empty cat food…
Friday, February 22, 2013
It's part of the county's plan to end homelessness by 2018.
Fairfax County will be abuzz next week when volunteers spread across the area to gather data on the county's homeless population. They will gather individual histories, names and will take photographs, as part of the county's 10-year plan to eradicate homelessness. "We want to put 150 of the county's homeless in housing in the next three years," said Sherry Eddlekamp, the South County corridor volunteer captain. "We don't want the homeless population to think that we are locating them to let the police or authorities know where they are, and I know that's a big concern for them." Eddlekamp will direct more than 50 volunteers in the endeavor. "The purpose is to get our homeless off the streets and get them the help that they need," she …
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Registry event puts a face on homelessness.
The Fairfax-Falls Church Community Partnership to End Homelessness has joined the 100,000 Homes Campaign, a nationwide initiative to find permanent homes for chronically homeless individuals. It is estimated that 300 people in Fairfax County are chronically homeless. The chronically homeless population is defined as “those who continually struggle with finding a safe and consistent place to call home.” Many chronically homeless individuals endure serious illness, physical, and mental disability. The county’s goal is to house 150 of the county’s chronically homeless population in the next three years. To achieve this goal, the county is participating in a Registry Event in February to help organizations understand who is homeless, why they…
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
The local nonprofit was recognized with other agencies to streamline the county's family shelter intake system.
New Hope Housing received the 2012 Team Excellence Award at the Fairfax County Awards Ceremony for its work collaborating with other agences to improve the county's family shelter intake system. Board Chairman Sharon Bulova presented the award to New Hope Housing’s Director of Family Programs Melonie Barrow and Director of Residential Services Susan Keenan, along with eight agencies and sixteen employees who contributed to the shelter intake redesign, making it easier for homeless families to find options for housing. The new family shelter intake structure eliminates a cumbersome waiting list and more quickly and efficiently provides homeless families or families at imminent risk of homelessness well-suited housing options, according to a…
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
New Hope Housing uses Out of Poverty curriculum to empower shelter residents.
The mood was celebratory last week at Aldersgate United Methodist Church as New Hope Housing staffers prepared for the Out of Poverty program graduation. Twenty-two graduates of the Out of Poverty program celebrated their achievement last Tuesday night in the church reception hall. The graduates ranged in age and gender. Some were carrying babies, some were not. All of these graduates are New Hope Housing shelter residents who are trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. Focusing on Prosperity The Out of Poverty program was founded by teacher Larry L. Lambert and social worker Marie Williams in the early 1990s. It is described in the facilitator’s manual as “a program of personal change.” Out of Poverty was adopted…
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Homelessness is an issue for many local families.
It seems that every other day, Mount Vernon residents get a solicitation from a local charitable group. They come at a rapid rate, the galas seem to be one after the other and it’s easy to get a little cynical and just toss out the solicitation. But the people who work in these organizations have chosen to help the less fortunate, and each family they serve has a story. For example, it might be a family that is being evicted from their home. It was the summer of 1962 and I was a 13 year-old baseball player who had just been selected to the town’s All Star team. West Islip, New York was a relatively middle-class town with one shopping center, a high school and a few churches. My father had abandoned our family a few months earlier and my …
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Some shelters could be required to make changes in 2013-14 season.
Winter hypothermia shelters for the homeless in Fairfax County face new inspections before they will be allowed to operate in the 2013-14 season. Fairfax County officials have begun inspecting all hypothermia shelters for fire and building code violations. The shelters will be allowed to operate as usual in the winter season beginning this December, but some shelters will be required to make improvements to operate the year after that, and occupancy limits might be lowered. Dean Klein, director of the county Office to Prevent and End Homelessness, said 36 sites, overwhelmingly churches and other houses of worship, hosted hypothermia shelters this past winter. Many shelters rotate among sites weekly. Klein said no changes would be mandated …
R. Johnson
11:44 am on Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Lets not use sequestration to masquarade the agenda of the democratic liberal party and progressives to include the president to instill that the Federal Goverment is the only way they can come out of poverty, individuals must be encouragedto be more self driven and work for the freedom they so desire without government hand outs and intrusions. more ›