Housing and Community Development - Public Affairs

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3700 Pender Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030
Allyson Pearce
Manager, Marketing and Community Outreach

Fairfax-Falls Church Community Partnership to Prevent and End Homelessness Newsletter

OPEH

AUGUST 2020 NEWSLETTER

The Office to Prevent and End Homelessness – now part of the Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development – is committed to eliminating the disproportionality of people at-risk of or experiencing homelessness from communities of color and other marginalized populations by providing equitable paths to safe, stable, affordable housing.

COVID-19 UPDATES

COVID-19

Thanks to the ongoing dedication of numerous partners, the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Partnership to Prevent and End Homelessness has continued to address the needs of those at risk of and experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following is a summary of activities from the past month:

  • Temporary Shelter Available During COVID-19: The availability of Quarantine, Protection, Isolation, and Decompression (QPID) Hotels as a temporary resource for those who meet the eligibility criteria and are unable to safely practice infection control was announced to the broader community.

    Fairfax County also activated the Emergency Support Function 6: Mass Care Health and Human Services, a Workgroup comprised of multiple Fairfax County Departments, to support this collaborative effort. 

    More than 400 people have transitioned into QPID Hotels since April 16th with locations now operating in Falls Church, Herndon, and Alexandria. The QPID Hotels are managed by several non-profit partners, including Shelter House, Cornerstones, New Hope Housing, and FACETS. Northern Virginia Family Service operates a Central Intake to triage referrals to the various QPID Hotels.
     
  • Shifting the Focus to Permanent Housing: Just as in our emergency shelter and outreach programs, case managers are working with clients experiencing homelessness at our QPID Hotels on obtaining permanent housing. 

Thank you to the many providers that are serving people in our community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each and every one of you are sincerely appreciated.

PARTNERSHIP UPDATES

Partnership

  • Bi-Annual Continuum of Care (CoC) Meeting: Thank you for joining us for the virtual Bi-Annual CoC Meeting held on July 7, 2020. We were excited to connect with the 20 organizations represented and nearly 70 attendees. To access the PowerPoint presentation, please visit the Continuum of Care Meetings information available on the website. 
     
  • CoC Annual Membership Invitation: The Office to Prevent and End Homelessness (OPEH) strives to ensure that membership and participation in the CoC includes a diverse and broad representation of all the necessary voices needed to accomplish the goal of making homelessness rare, brief, and one time. This annual invitation is open to any organization or individual connected to Fairfax County that is also interested in preventing and ending homelessness in our community, including but not limited to, the representatives outlined in 24 CFR § 578.3 DEFINITIONS.  

     To change your email address or unsubscribe please visit https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/mailinglist/. Additional staff can also sign up to receive the monthly newsletters and other CoC announcements distributed through this website. For questions about CoC membership, please contact michael.willson@fairfaxcounty.gov
     
  • 2020 Census Workers to Count Population Experiencing Homeless in September: The U.S. Census Bureau has announced the new schedule for counting people experiencing homelessness in the 2020 Census. The operation was originally scheduled for March 30 through April 1, but health and safety concerns due to COVID-19 forced a delay. People experiencing homelessness will be counted by specially trained census takers September 22 through 24.
     
  • Virtual Town Hall Meeting: The National Alliance to End Homelessness held its Virtual Town Hall to End Homeless on Wednesday, July 15. A recording of the event can be viewed on their YouTube page.

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

Training

Please register for the following trainings if you have an interest in attending. By registering, we will be able to inform you of any adjustments or cancelations due to COVID-19. 
 

  • The Street Outreach Training that was originally scheduled for August 21 will be rescheduled to a later date. 
     
  • Fair Housing Seminar, Virginia Fair Housing Office 
    Enter “DPOR” in the Keyword Search and follow the prompts. 
    Registration will begin July 18  
    November 18 | 10a – 2p
    Jefferson Center
    541 Luck Ave SW, Ste 221, Roanoke, VA 24016
     
  • In-Person Classroom Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Training will start on August 14. Huge training rooms will be available to practice social distancing, and facial mask will be required when in the Government Center Building and are not allowed to be removed during the training session. With the re-start of in-person HMIS training, the training needs of the Continuum will be greatly improved. Homeless service providers need to coordinate with their supervisors to attend the training.  
     
Fairfax Virtual Assistant