FEBRUARY 2022

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.
 

PARTNERSHIP UPDATES



 

• Continuum of Care (CoC) Committee: The CoC Committee, the governance of the CoC, will be meeting on January 14 at 10:00 a.m. in conference rooms 9 and 10 at the Fairfax County Government Center (12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, VA 22030). The agenda, meeting materials, and minutes will be available at https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/homeless/coccommittee
   
• Bi-Annual Continuum of Care (CoC) Meeting:
  The Bi-Annual CoC Meeting on January 12th focused on the presentation of the Regional Racial Equity Assessment findings. This included the methodology used in the assessment process to identify racial disparities and data gaps, as well as regional trends, strengths, and challenges specific to each jurisdiction. More information on CoC Meetings can be found at https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/homeless/coc-meetings.
   
• Regional Racial Equity Initiative: Fairfax County’s Continuum of Care (CoC) is partnering with the nine neighboring jurisdictions that participate in the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) Homeless Services Committee in a Regional Racial Equity Initiative led by C4 Innovations to develop coordinated goals and strategies with actionable steps that each CoC can implement at a local level, and collectively as a region, to achieve a more racially equitable approach to ending homelessness. Each jurisdiction is represented by a Racial Equity Action Council (REAC). Fairfax County CoC’s REAC representatives are:
  • Lisa Jones, Fairfax County’s Department of Family Services
  • Diana Pina, Fairfax County’s Department of Housing & Community Development
  • Tanner Sigmon, The Lamb Center
  • Maura Williams, Cornerstones
    
    REAC is currently working on a System Mapping Tool that will help the CoC identify gaps and barriers to services. In the beginning of February, REAC will be sharing a system analysis survey. The responses of which will be shared with C4 Innovations to complete Fairfax County CoC’s system analysis.
     
• Point in Time (PIT): On January 26, 2022, non-profit and county partners conducted the annual Point-in-Time Count, identifying individuals and families experiencing literal homeless – those in shelters, in time-limited transitional housing programs, as well as those who are unsheltered and living on the street. Thank you to those who contributed to this important data collection process. The local and regional results will be made available at a later date at https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/homeless.
   
• Hypothermia Prevention Program: The Hypothermia Prevention Program expands shelter capacity each winter for individuals experiencing homelessness through overflow space at existing shelters and auxiliary off-site programs hosted largely in partnership with faith communities. The Hypothermia Prevention Program officially started on December 1 and concludes the morning of April 1. More information on the dates and locations is available at https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/homeless/hypothermia-prevention-program.
   

• 2022 Fairfax County Housing Symposium: The third annual Fairfax County Housing Symposium will take place on March 17th from 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. The Symposium will once again bring together elected leaders, industry professionals, policy experts, and housing advocates with the primary goal of advancing the role of affordable housing within the fabric of our community. This year’s theme – A Foundation for Economic Recovery, Growth, and Opportunity – will include a look at the impacts of and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic; growing personal wealth through homeownership; advancing economic mobility through housing opportunities; and the preservation/modernization of affordable housing through innovation.

• New Team Members at the Office to Prevent and End Homelessness (OPEH): OPEH is excited welcome the following new team members starting on February 14th:

  • Continuum of Care (CoC) Analyst: Ling-Yun Garada-Lin (she/they) will be joining OPEH as the Continuum of Care Analyst. In this role, they will review data to support the monitoring and evaluation of projects within the homeless services system, complete research to support the development and maintenance of the CoC system, and assist with the Collaborative Application and Point-in-Time and Housing Inventory Counts. Ling-Yun brings year of experience in the housing and non-profit sector that ranges from direct practice to grant writing.

  • Coordinated Entry Support Specialist: Katrina Wayne (she/her) will be joining OPEH as the Coordinated Entry Support Specialist. In this newly created position, she will focus on the development and refinement of Coordinated Entry policies and procedures, monitoring and evaluating outcomes of these policies, and providing ongoing support and training to partners and providers. Katrina brings extensive direct practice and leadership experience in the non-profit sector serving victims of domestic violence and people experiencing homelessness.

FUNDING INFORMATION




 

• Supportive Services for Veteran Families: The Department of Veterans Affairs recently announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program in FY 2023. The NOFO contains information concerning the SSVF Program, the renewal and new applicant supportive services grant application processes, and the amount of funding available. Applications are due no later than February 7, 2022.

Training Opportunities



 

• Rapid Rehousing Roundtable Discussion Series:
  The Rapid Rehousing (RRH) Roundtable Discussion Series aims to identify, imagine, and increase trends that support innovation in RRH services and programs and the development of best practices within communities through a series of webinars with provider-level practitioners, people with lived expertise, and program administrators. This series is intended for anyone involved in homeless system response and identifying housing for our most vulnerable neighbors.

  • Assertive Engagement in Practice
    February 8, 2022
    1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

  • Landlord Engagement and Unit Acquisition
    February 15, 2022
    1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

  • Rapid Resolution/Rapid Exit
    February 22, 2022
    1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

  • Innovation in RRH
    March 1, 2022
    1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

• Seeking Shelter: Changes in Housing Preferences
  February 2, 2022
  5:00 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.

  Our housing choices, where and how we live, are changing. The pandemic experience, affordability issues, shifting work patterns, transportation preferences, and environmental concerns are impacting the different housing decisions of the retiring baby boomer generation, the maturing millennial generation, and the new Gen Z generation of homebuyers. Join the Center for Real Estate Entrepreneurship of the George Mason University School of Business as we host a lecture by Dr. Jessica Lautz, the Vice President of Demographics and Behavioral Insights at the National Association of REALTORS®, on trends in housing demand.

• Trauma Awareness 101 Training
  February 15, 2022
  10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

  This training will increase attendees’ professional capacity to understand and address clients and others that have experienced traumatic experiences.  All CoC partners, especially front line and support staff team members who work directly with the public and clients, will benefit from attending this training.

• REVIVE! Opioid Overdose and Naloxone Education
  February 10, 18, 22, 26

  The Community Services Board has partnered with the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to launch REVIVE!, a program that makes naloxone available to lay rescuers to reverse opioid overdoses. Opioids include licit medications like hydrocodone and oxycodone, in addition to illicit drugs like heroin. REVIVE! trains individuals on what to do and not do in an overdose situation, how to administer naloxone, and what to do afterwards. Each attendee also receives a free REVIVE! kit, which includes all the supplies needed to administer naloxone. The medication itself can be acquired at a pharmacy after completing the training. Attendees also receive a safety plan to help individuals prevent overdose if they relapse.

• DV Network Tier I Training
  March 8, 10, 15, 17, 22, 24, 29, 31
  4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

  Tier One is a training on the dynamics of domestic violence, the systems that respond to those experiencing violence, and available resources in our community. The training is designed for professionals interested in learning the dynamics of domestic violence in order to deepen their work with clients and community members, and anyone interested in volunteering with Domestic and Sexual Violence Services. Please note that you must attend all 8 sessions to receive a certificate of completion.