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Click on the links below for the following information:
Getting Help for Homeless Families
Shelter Programs
Homelessness in Fairfax County
Ending Homelessness in Fairfax-Falls Church Community
Getting Help for Homeless Families
Q: How are families identified as homeless?
A: All families entering a Fairfax County shelter must complete an interview with Fairfax County’s Coordinator Services Planning (703.222.0880). A family can be identified several ways: self referral, DFS Social Worker, CPS Worker, Police, etc.
Q: What are the criteria for a family to receive shelter?
A: Families requesting shelter must be homeless and have at least one child. Family composition can consist of a single parent male or female, two-parent family, etc. A family’s homeless status is verified through Fairfax County’s Coordinated Services Planning (703.222.0880).
Q: Should a homeless family call a family shelter to gain access to services?
A: Families may call the shelter directly to access resources. However, they will ultimately be referred to Fairfax County’s Coordinated Services Planning (703.222.0880) to complete an initial screening.
Q: Is their a waiting list?
A: Yes. All family shelters in Fairfax County operate off of a unified waiting list.
Q: Where do families stay while on the waiting list?
A: The shelter Intake Coordinator works very closely with families waiting for shelter space. Families are assisted with locating temporary housing until placed into a shelter. These places can consist of family/friends, shelters in other jurisdictions, and limited motel space is available.
Q: How long does a family have to wait while on the waiting list?
A: On average, families wait three to six months before being placed in a shelter. Larger families (5 members or more) typically have a longer wait.
Shelter Programs
Q: What services are provided in a shelter?
A: A wide array of services are offered to families staying at the shelter. In house services include: case management, mental health counseling (at the KHFS), employment assistance, medical services through the Fairfax County Health Dept, housing counseling, life skills programs, financial literacy, home-based services, and children’s services. Other services that families can take advantage of while in a shelter include: ESOL, daycare, benefit enrollment, tax preparation, etc.
Q: Can a family enter the shelter if they have a drug or alcohol dependency?
A: Families exhibiting mental health, physical health, and/or alcohol and drug issues are still admitted into the shelter. Extensive services are established for those families entering the shelter. Families are not able to enter the shelter if they are, at the time, intoxicated or under the influence of drugs or alcohol. These individuals are referred to Fairfax County’s Alcohol & Drug Services.
Q: Where do families go after leaving the shelter?
A: Depending on a family’s level of functioning, they can move to the following destinations: Permanent housing, transitional housing, family or friends, other supportive programs. Those families who are not willing to comply with program rules, policies, and expectations may be asked to leave the shelter. Shelter staff will assist the family in finding a temporary, but stable to place to stay.
Q: Do the families have to work in order to stay in the shelter?
A: Families must agree to comply with a written service plan that is developed by the head of household and their case manager. Goals and tasks on the service plan can consist of obtaining/maintaining employment, budgeting, following mental health recommendations, and any other matters that may be a barrier to an individual’s success.
Q: What is the average length of stay for families staying in the shelter?
A: The average length of stay (ALS) for a family in the shelter varies from year to year. Last year the ALS for all family shelters in Fairfax County was approximately 120 days. Under the Housing First model and the 10-year plan to end homeless, the Katherine Hanley Shelter has set a goal to decrease the ALS significantly to around 45 days.
Q: Where are the Transitional Housing programs located?
A: Transitional Housing is scattered site housing operated by multiple Non-Profit agencies around the county. Most Transitional Housing units are either owned condos or rented apartments located in regular housing complexes.
Homelessness in Fairfax County
Q: How many homeless people are in Fairfax County? How many families? How many children?
A: According to Fairfax County’s 2008 Point in Time Survey, 1,835 persons were identified as being homeless on January 24 2008. 1,091 were persons in families, of which 670 were children.
Q: What are the causes of families becoming homeless?
A: The causes of homelessness in our area are varied and include: lack of affordable and appropriate housing; poor credit; large financial debt; broken ties with family/friends; mental Illness; loss of job; loss of income; domestic violence; illness; and immigration.
Q: Why don’t we see homeless families on the streets in Fairfax County?
A: Some families are temporarily housed with family or friends (usually overcrowded and not stable). Many families find enough resources to be able to move from house to house. Unfortunately, families do report periods of living outside and in their cars in Fairfax County
Ending Homelessness in Fairfax-Falls Church Community
(This section is copied from Frequently Asked Questions: Ending Homelessness in the Fairfax-Falls Church Community, prepared by the Communications Subcommittee of the Implementation Committee to Prevent and End Homelessness in the Fairfax-Falls Church Community.)
Q: Why do we need to change things? Aren’t there lots of organizations and county agencies doing good work to help people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness?
A: The Fairfax-Falls Church community has been doing an excellent job in managing homelessness – that is, taking care of those in our community who are homeless. But the number of people who are homeless has not decreased. The current system cares for people, but it is not designed to end homelessness. We need to work more effectively and efficiently to maximize resources and help more people before they become homeless. Better coordination of prevention efforts can prevent homelessness. Now is the time to come together to prevent and end homelessness.
Q: What do we mean by “ending” homelessness?
A: Ending homelessness means that every person who is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless can access appropriate permanent housing and the services needed to keep them in their homes.
Q: How are we going to do it?
A: The goal of ending homelessness will be achieved by adopting a new approach. This approach is called Housing First. What makes this approach different from traditional emergency shelter or housing transitional models is that people who are homeless are placed immediately into permanent housing – with regular support. This approach takes people as they are, in part because housing is a basic right. Put simply, housing comes first, with services. A central tenet of this Housing First approach is that social services to enhance individual and family well-being can be more effective when people are in their own home.
Q: How can we help individuals and families find housing when there is not enough housing?
A: Preserving and increasing the supply of affordable, permanent housing resources is necessary to implement a Housing First approach. This may involve working with landlords who are willing to participate in a housing first program. Developing housing resources might also involve dedicating some housing resources, such as assistance with rent, to individuals who are homeless; developing new housing types, such as small efficiency apartments; and increasing the supply of housing targeted to people with special needs. Changes also need to be made to land use, zoning, and tax incentive policies.
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