A supportive housing nonprofit based in Fairfax City plans to hit the road with a new mobile unit that will enable it to bring services directly to the people who need them.
Pathway Homes is aiming to launch the Mobile Outreach Unit (MOU) in the fourth quarter of 2025 after securing nearly $300,000 in grant funding for the program, CEO Sylisa Lambert-Woodard announced in a June press release.
The mobile unit will provide showers, case management and other services to people experiencing homelessness. The first initiative of its kind in the region, the program will initially focus on Fairfax and Prince William counties before expanding to other parts of Northern Virginia, according to Pathway Homes.
Lambert-Woodard thanked the funders — including Virginia Housing, Amazon, and the Cafritz and Potomac Health foundations — for their “generous grants.”
“Ending homelessness requires innovation,” she said in the press release. “… Providing a wheeled response to those facing homelessness will help us meet the needs of the unsheltered and provide interaction with case managers to help people move off the streets.”
According to the release, Pathway Homes recently completed a feasibility study that bolstered its interest in hosting the MOU program at its headquarters, which can currently be found at Gatewood Plaza (10201 Fairfax Blvd, Suite 200).
Inspired by a similar mobile showers service in Orlando, Florida, Pathway will customize a trailer with a shower that can be used on a drop-in basis — an option only offered by two of the 41 homeless shelters in Northern Virginia, the nonprofit says.
Guests will also have access to case management services and hygiene and wellness kits.
The unit will be primarily anchored at Pathway’s headquarters, which will relocate to 4010 University Drive in early 2027. The new base will include a community hub with a food pantry, supply storage and a training center, along with at least 10 supportive housing units for older adults who have serious mental illnesses or other disabilities.
The MOU will also travel to other locations around the region, though the logistics of how its availability will be determined are still being worked out.
“They definitely look forward to being a resource for the region and other shelter partners,” a public relations representative for Pathway told FFXnow.
Founded in 1980, Pathway Homes is dedicated to providing permanent housing and other support services to people with serious mental illnesses and co-occurring disabilities. It owns and leases units in over 500 properties in Northern Virginia and D.C.
Pathway named its new mobile service “MOU” to intentionally evoke the acronym for memorandum of understanding. The association suggests the program will serve as a “symbolic agreement between the community and those experiencing homelessness to offer human dignity, support, and opportunity,” the press release says.
“By bringing Pathway’s services directly to those in need, we can build trust and restore dignity to those experiencing homelessness who otherwise may not seek services on their own,” Lambert-Woodward said. “This will become another important and collaborative tool to help prevent and end homelessness in our community.”
The D.C. region’s annual Point-in-Time count found 1,322 people experiencing homelessness in Fairfax County this past January — an increase from 2024 that remains well above numbers reported prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
