"Homelessness impacts every person in our community, and each has a role in ending it."

History

This vision and belief was the foundation of a community planning process that established the strategic direction necessary to develop an implementation and performance plan to prevent and end homelessness in the Fairfax-Falls Church Community. In April 2007, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors appointed a 95-member Implementation Committee to develop the plan to prevent and end homelessness based on the strategies outlined in the Blueprint for Success. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors officially adopted the developed plan on May 31, 2008. The Office to Prevent and End Homelessness was established shortly thereafter within the Fairfax County Government to manage, coordinate, and monitor day-to-day implementation of the plan to end homelessness, assure coordinated execution of the work, serve as staff to the Governing Board and Consumer Advisory Council, and communicate with the broader community. Today, the Office to Prevent and End Homelessness is comprised of nearly 30 staff members that support the oversight of contracts for homelessness prevention, hypothermia prevention, outreach, emergency shelter, rapid rehousing, and supportive housing. The agency also serves as the Continuum of Care (CoC) and Homelessness Management Information System (HMIS) lead and provides oversight and maintenance to more than 50 county-owned supportive housing facilities.

Statement of Values

These values inform and guide the strategic direction to Prevent and End Homelessness in the Fairfax-Falls Church Community:

• We value everyone in our community, recognizing the right of all people to have a safe affordable place in which to live.
• We value diversity, believing that communities are strengthened when people connect across differences.
• We value excellence and are committed to finding creating, bold solutions for both housing needs and support services.
• We value an inclusive process that respects all points of view and a balanced approach to the issues.
• We value education and advocacy and their power to impact public policy in ways that achieve a vision of community without homelessness