Homeless Services
Homeless Services is an ongoing focus area for the Falls Church/Fairfax City Housing and Human Services Advisory Board (HHCAB), tracking multiple interrelated sub-topics: the rotating hypothermia shelter program, a proposed Homeless Docket pilot, Continuum of Care (CoC) funding, and homelessness data collection. 3 separate matters touch this plan or program; each has its own status.
Beacon Landing
Beacon Landing is a 54-unit supportive affordable housing development co-developed by Wesley Housing and the Lamb Center, located within the city. The project drew on 23 separate financing sources and received a $700,000 gap financing investment from the city's Housing Trust Fund in February 2023 — a fund built from cash-in-lieu payments made by developers prior to the adoption of the city's Affordable Dwelling Unit ordinance in 2020.
- Fairfax County Office to Prevent and End Homelessness (OPEH)
The 2026 Point-in-Time Count identified 1,365 people experiencing homelessness in Fairfax County (a 3% increase), with 65 individuals identified in the City of Fairfax specifically; recent $24M contracts and a $3M Rental Subsidy and Services Program were discussed alongside strained resources.
The City of Fairfax 2035 Comprehensive Plan is the city's primary long-range land use and policy document, guiding development, housing, transportation, and related decisions. A five-year review process culminated on October 8, 2024, when City Council unanimously adopted Resolution R-24-30 approving the updated plan dated September 27, 2024.
- Committee Activity
Board members discussed and prioritized next steps across three homeless services sub-topics: a Homeless Docket (feasibility, court coordination, outcomes tracking), a Hypothermia Program (permanent vs. rotating shelter, transition gaps, financial impact), and general homeless services (federal policy impacts, longer-term solutions).
- Strategy Team Updates
The Homelessness Strategy Team highlighted the importance of data collection and analysis to track local trends within the broader Continuum of Care system; plans include tracking encampments, service utilization, and interdepartmental data, and advancing a homeless docket feasibility analysis. Federal court rulings blocked HUD from implementing its revised CoC Builds Program funding criteria and revised CoC NOFO, ordering reinstatement of prior FY2024–2025 NOFO structures and preserving existing funding while litigation continues.
passedMotion to approve the information sharing/gathering approach of attending various Village in the City events for the Home Sharing Strategy Team.✓ Light✓ LaCroix✓ Delboy✓ Bonaiuto✓ Vincent✓ Ihara✓ Derosier✓ Atwood✓ Gillespie✓ Napolitano✓ Cattaneo✓ Opoku-Yeboah· Anderson· Jensen· Wilber· Cabelli· Hatch
Fairfax Village in the City
Fairfax Village in the City is a volunteer-driven community program serving older adults and adults with disabilities in the City of Fairfax, helping members live independently at home through services such as transportation, home repairs, and social connection. It operates under an Advisory Board and employs a village coordinator (Jason Skadron), and is a member of both the National Village to Village Network and the Virginia Villages Collective.
- HHCAB Strategy Teams, Working Session
The Homeless Services Strategy Team discussed hypothermia shelter program models (rotating vs. permanent site) and a potential homeless docket pilot program; the Housing Program Manager will coordinate meetings to gather data and answer outstanding questions on both topics.
- Continuum of Care Program Funding Update
Staff presented the FY2025 HUD Continuum of Care Competition update, noting Fairfax County's Estimated Annual Renewal Demand of $11,860,912 supporting 430 households, challenges from a new 30% cap on permanent housing projects, and pending litigation from 21 states against HUD regarding the CoC NOFO.
- Overview of HHCAB February Meeting Post-It Note Results
Board members reviewed prioritized homelessness-related ideas generated during the February 2, 2026 full HHCAB meeting via a dot-voting exercise. The team agreed to rewrite the hypothermia program goal in HHCAB's work plan to focus on actively engaging in the Continuum of Care and advocating for a formal evaluation of the rotating hypothermia shelter model, and identified routine data tracking priorities including encampment counts and individuals served at The Lamb Center. The team discussed the hypothermia program, including a recent meeting with the NAACP Housing Committee analyzing the rotating vs. fixed-location structure, and a virtual debrief scheduled by the Office to Prevent and End Homelessness on April 3 that the Housing Program Manager will attend. The city's role was noted as engaging in the conversation and advocating for an analysis. Staff reported on preliminary steps toward establishing a Homeless Docket per the Homelessness Task Force priority recommendation: an inquiry was submitted to the City Attorney to assess data availability on misdemeanor cases potentially associated with individuals experiencing homelessness, and to explore cross-referencing with the homeless services system. Staff reported that the Housing Program Manager will hold encampment coordination meetings with the Human Services Division, Parks Department, Police Department, and City Manager's Office at the start and end of each hypothermia shelter season to review policies and ensure smooth implementation.
- Re-write Hypothermia Goal
Discussion covered the rotating hypothermia shelter model, an NAACP Housing Committee workgroup formed to evaluate it, and an OPEH survey sent to service providers and faith communities following an April 3 debrief. A new OPEH Outreach & Overflow Specialist role was noted with a start date of May 4. The team agreed to collect trend data from both the FACETS Outreach Team and The Lamb Center, as well as encampment counts within the City, to better monitor homelessness need over time. Hypothermia shelter program participant counts were also identified as a future useful data point.
In full
Since late 2025, the Homeless Services Strategy Team has been examining the rotating vs. permanent-site hypothermia shelter model, working with the NAACP Housing Committee and the Fairfax County Office to Prevent and End Homelessness (OPEH) toward a formal evaluation. On the Homeless Docket, staff submitted an inquiry to the City Attorney to assess data availability on misdemeanor cases potentially linked to individuals experiencing homelessness. FY2025 HUD CoC funding supports 430 households in Fairfax County at an estimated annual renewal demand of $11.86M, but the program faces significant uncertainty: a 30% cap on permanent housing projects, pending litigation from 21 states against HUD, and federal court orders blocking HUD's revised CoC NOFO and funding criteria (reinstating prior FY2024–2025 structures).
The 2026 Point-in-Time Count identified 1,365 people experiencing homelessness countywide (a 3% increase) and 65 individuals in the City of Fairfax specifically, with recent $24M contracts and a $3M Rental Subsidy and Services Program noted alongside strained resources.