HOMELESS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA

1. HOMELESS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA HOMELESS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA Local Communities Respond to Preventing and Ending Homelessness

2. HOMELESS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA PARTNERS • Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance • Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness • Made possible by a generous grant from: • Freddie Mac Foundation • Thanks to all of the service providers, CBOs and local government staff who provided information for this report.

3. HOMELESS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA METHODOLOGY • This study uses: • 2009 “Point-in-Time” Counts • Interviews with staff of local government agencies • Interviews with nonprofit service providers • 10 Year Plans (Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax-Falls • Church)

4. OVERVIEW • Rates of homelessness have fluctuated, but we are still higher • last year than five years ago for individuals and families

5. HOMELESS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA OVERVIEW . . . CONT’D • Biggest Contributing Factor: LackofAffordableHousing • Other Factors: • Explosive job growth created a housing shortage; high demand fueled boom • Boom priced out low-income households • Subsequent foreclosure crisis/recession pushed higher-income households into the • rental market, squeezing low-income households • Recession simultaneously created more need and hampered jurisdictions’ abilities to • respond • Boom or Bust, resources for serving the lowest-income households will be a • challenge

6. HOMELESS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA OVERVIEW . . . CONT’D • The report examines the responses of jurisdictions in the following areas: • Funding and Staffing • Serving Chronically Homeless Persons • Data Management • Politics and Policy • Philosophy Change • NIMBY • Population Migration

7. HOMELESS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA FUNDING & STAFFING • 10 Year Plans need dedicated funds and staffing to progress • Housing and services (and their funding streams) must be coordinated • collaboratively, which requires systems changes • Even once identified, distributing funds from multiple sources for • multiple purposes but aimed at one coherent outcome is challenging • In some jurisdictions, experiences with HPRP have been instructive • HPRP is limited, though. It is not a long-term solution for episodic • homelessness, and not a solution at all for chronic homelessness.

8. HOMELESS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA SERVING CHRONICALLY HOMELESS PERSONS • Chronically homeless individuals and families are homeless multiple times over a short period. • To remedy, they need: • Housing • Intensive case management • Supportive services

9. HOMELESS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA DATA MANAGEMENT • HMIS is important for tracking; equally important for planning • To plan, jurisdiction-wide or region-wide, use of HMIS should be consistent

10. HOMELESS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA POLITICS & POLICY • When resources for housing and homelessness scattered, commitment and leadership on this issue was tested • Some legislators think these issues don’t affect their jurisdiction at all • Others are supportive, but don’t prioritize these issues in lean times • Still, others are supportive but aren’t well positioned to lead on the • issue • Progress on 10 Year Plans requires positive political will.

11. HOMELESS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA PHILOSOPHY CHANGE • Ending homelessness requires everyone to think differently because • now everyone, from the drop-in center to the housing developer, • wants the same outcome. • Internally focused community-focused

12. HOMELESS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA NIMBY • Much of the housing in 10YPs thus far has been through vouchers or • other rental subsidies and repurposing existing special needs housing • NIMBY will become a more challenging issue as 10 YPs progress and • jurisdictions begin to develop new housing (esp. unpopular options) • Previous experience indicates that even minor opposition can • stall/derail projects; Projects have to engage advocates and cultivate • powerful alliances early and educate, educate, educate!

13. HOMELESS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA POPULATION MIGRATION • Anecdotally, this hasn’t been a big issue. • Better data management will help better define this issue

14. HOMELESS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA IN CONCLUSION . . . • We need to determine: • What are the good practices that we can take from jurisdiction to • jurisdiction? • What are the points for regional collaboration?

15. HOMELESS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA IN CONCLUSION . . . • We should consider: • Funding and Staffing - Collaborative funding processes; Consolidated • RFPs; Dedicated, paid government staff • Serving Chronically Homeless Persons - Non-traditional housing • options; Redesigning literacy and job training and work supports to • better target people with multiple barriers • Data Management – Updating systems; Streamlining data collection; • Centralized training and technical support

16. HOMELESS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA IN CONCLUSION . . . • We should consider: • Politics and Policy – Use legislators and prominent private sector • participants on 10YP oversight bodies or Continuums of care to get • support • Philosophy Change – Move the majority of decision-making to a • coalition body that includes both government and nonprofits • NIMBY – Engage early; Cultivate powerful partners; Fight in coalitions • for policy changes that will affect your development and others; • Educate!