To the Editor:

Several years ago, on a freezing February morning, I rode the VRE into Washington, D.C. for a Council of Governments meeting. As I was leaving Union Station, I noticed a middle aged woman, with sacks of belongings and bedding gathered around her. She was clearly a person with mental illness, muttering to herself and batting the air at imaginary objects. I remember thinking, “I’m so glad I live in Fairfax County. We have social services programs that would help someone like this woman.” Later that week, while jogging down an old alignment of a road near my home, I spotted a tent tucked way back in the woods. It was a homeless person’s encampment.

Fairfax County has established a “hypothermia program” to shelter homeless individuals during the cold winter months. The program is a partnership among county agencies, area houses of worship and nonprofit organizations. The hypothermia program has served to crystallize how inadequate our human services network is for dealing with homelessness.

In March 2008, our Board of Supervisors endorsed a “Housing First” strategy to end homelessness as we know it. Working with houses of worship and charitable organizations, Fairfax County has adopted a strategy for making sure people in our community have a roof over their heads and receive the help they need to get back on their feet.

At our January 26 meeting, the Board of Supervisors approved a new Housing Blueprint to address the challenge of ensuring there is accessible, affordable housing for all members of our community. Affordable housing was a key topic when the Board considered our current Fiscal Year 2010 budget and the Board dedicated considerable time to discussing housing issues at our post-budget retreat last June.

At the retreat, we agreed that our housing programs must emphasize serving those with the greatest needs, that affordable housing represents a spectrum of needs, and that we can be most effective in accomplishing these goals by working with Faith Community and non-profit partners in the community.

The Housing Blueprint is a strategy for addressing these priorities and represents a new direction compared to the previous policy of preservation. The new goals stated in the Blueprint are comprehensive: to end homelessness in 10 years, to provide affordable housing options to those with special needs, to cut the waiting lists for affordable housing in half over 10 years, and to produce workforce housing to accommodate projected job growth. The Blueprint is the product of impressive collaboration by county agencies, concerned citizens, houses of worship and local non-profits. Because of the metrics it includes, the Blueprint sets short and long term goals and can be used to evaluate our programs. To view the Housing Blueprint ,please visit http://www.e-ffordable.org/.

Please let us know if you would like more information, or would like to volunteer in efforts to address homelessness. The County’s Office to End Homelessness can be reached by going to http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/homeless.


Sharon Bulova

Chairman

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors