Email signup

Almost a quarter of homeless Fairfax County residents are under 18, data shows

Encampment set up by people experiencing homelessness (via MWCOG)

Work is underway to understand the state of homelessness in Fairfax County.

The county conducted its annual Point-in-Time Count this past January, where public and nonprofit workers travel to shelters, transitional housing, and other sites to document the number of people experiencing homelessness on one night.

“We’re analyzing the results, and we’ll be publishing the results along with the other D.C. region communities in May,” Tom Barnett, the deputy director of the county’s Office to Prevent and End Homelessness, told FFXnow.

Barnett says there won’t be a way to determine whether homelessness increased or decreased for the area until the report is finalized. The Metropolitan Washington Coalition of Governments will release the report.

Last year, Fairfax County was one of only two localities in the D.C. area to report an increase in people experiencing homelessness. Its numbers increased from 2017 to 2021 by 27%, or 1,222 individuals.

According to a presentation to the county’s Advisory Social Services Board on March 16, the age group most affected by homelessness last year was children and teenagers:

  • 24% of people experiencing homelessness were under the age of 18
  • 7% were 18 to 24-year-olds
  • 16% were 25 to 34-year-olds
  • 15% were 35 to 44-year-olds
  • 15% were 45 to 54-year-olds
  • 12% were 55 to 61-year-olds
  • 11% were 62 and older

County staff also reported that 51% of those affected locally were Black, and 37% were white. Most were male, and 327 people were chronically homeless.

Fairfax County has been using federal stimulus funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 and American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to support its efforts to address homelessness during the pandemic.

One example from those funds includes money to provide 169 emergency housing vouchers to people so they can rent apartments in Fairfax County.

“That’s going to be make a huge positive impact in our homelessness numbers,” Barnett said.

In March, the county also announced it was receiving $10 million in federal Continuum of Care funding to provide homeless housing and services. Most of the money will be used to expand programming at the nonprofit Shelter House.

“Our community received a significant increase this year,” Barnett said, noting that it represents a 9% uptick from last year’s funding. “That money is going to help survivors of domestic violence who are experiencing homelessness find new housing.”

The county also created a Continuum of Care Committee last year to assess its strategies around addressing homelessness.

Recent Stories

Good Friday evening! Today we published 6 articles that were read a total of 6621 times on FFXnow alone, so far. 📈 Top stories The following are the most-read articles…

Lake Anne’s plaza will once again spring to life this summer with concerts. Lake Anne Live! — an event series that kicked off last year — brings Thursday evening concerts…

The proposed repurposing of Inova Health System’s former corporate headquarters in Merrifield as live/work and workforce housing units got a hearty recommendation from the Fairfax County Planning Commission earlier this…

Are you ready for summer? Live Fairfax has a bucket list of indoor activities, outdoor escapades and trips to explore this summer.

Camps are just the beginning of what’s in store at Art House 7 this summer. We’re thrilled to offer an array of exciting classes for both kids and adults!Rediscover your creativity with some of our AH7 favorites, such as drawing, hand-sewing, modern embroidery, and our popular 3-week Jump into Crochet classes. But that’s not all! We’ve added some fresh and exciting options to our summer class selection, guaranteed to spark your imagination.

To enhance your artistic journey, we have intensified some of our Ceramics: The Wheel classes to a full 3-hour duration. This extended time allows for more creativity and skill development in each class session. If you’re eager for a captivating twist, give Contemporary Still-Life Drawing & Painting a go. Or why not try an immersive outdoor painting adventure? We have a unique opportunity for you to bring your painting skills to life while learning and creating in the great outdoors with our Landscape Painting: Studio and Plein Air class!

We invite you to visit our website and explore our full Summer Session schedule, brimming with a diverse range of classes and camps. Classes and camps begin June 20th. Unleash your inner artist, broaden your horizons, and embark on a summer adventure like no other. Let’s make this a summer to remember at Art House 7!

Submit your own Community Post here.

Potomac Harmony Chorus has a new director! We’re ready
to kick off the season with new music, a new approach, and YOU!

Potomac Harmony is one of 500 choruses in Sweet
Adelines International. We’re a vibrant,
contemporary, inclusive, welcoming, and open community of women singers who
perform four-part harmony, barbershop style, committed to a high level of
achievement through teaching, mentoring, personal growth, and performance. Our vision is to entertain, educate, and
enrich lives through musical expression while promoting the barbershop art
form.

Potomac Harmony recently had our first performance
with our new director, receiving rave reviews! We invite you to stop by any Wednesday
evening and be part of the fun and harmony!

Read More

Submit your own Community Post here.

Army Birthday Festival – Free and Fun

Make Saturday, June 10, 2023 a great day!

Come celebrate the Army Birthday Festival at the National Museum of the U.S. Army from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Rain or Shine!

• Experience outdoor and indoor fun activities, for all

Unveiling of West Ford historical highway marker

Gum Springs will be celebrating 190 years of its founding by freedman West Ford on Saturday, June 17, 2023. To kick-off the celebration, there will be an unveiling of a Virginia historical highway marker for West Ford on Fordson Road

×

Subscribe to our mailing list