Fairfax County has cut ties with one of its homeless shelter providers in response to allegations of deteriorating conditions and mismanagement.
The Department of Housing and Community Development’s Office to Prevent and End Homelessness (HCD OPEH) took control of Bailey’s Shelter & Supportive Housing, the Eleanor U. Kennedy Shelter in Fort Belvoir and other programs managed by New Hope Housing at the beginning of October after terminating its contract with the nonprofit on Sept. 30.
While searching for a new, permanent operator, the county says it has been working to improve conditions for shelter users and stabilize staffing by re-hiring New Hope Housing workers interested in staying through a temporary staffing agency.
“HCD OPEH is committed to its mission and is dedicated to fostering community-based resources for people experiencing homelessness,” a housing department spokesperson said to FFXnow. “We remain laser-focused on ensuring that the people serviced by our programs receive the quality of care expected by our standards and outlined in our service contracts.”
As of Friday (Oct. 3), the county had completed the hiring process for about two-thirds of the over 80 workers who expressed interest in making the transition. Individuals who are hired are given a bonus “to recognize their hard work and persistence,” OPEH says.
Required training on issues like trauma-informed care, addressing substance abuse disorders, de-escalation and other skills is also underway.
Given that “very positive” progress, no gaps in staffing for the two homeless shelters are expected, but the OPEH spokesperson says the county will keep monitoring the situation and “hire more staff as needed.”
When it comes to helping those using the shelters, OPEH says its top priority has been to ensure basic services, including food and facility cleanings, are provided. Staff are also working to provide “consistent” assistance with obtaining housing, employment and medical care, among other services, and to establish direct communications with clients.
“We are aware that guests have grievances that have not yet been properly addressed,” the OPEH spokesperson said. “We are working with staff to create better systems that ensure our guests know how to have concerns addressed. This includes fostering a closer relationship between guests and HCD OPEH directly. We recognize guests wish for more direct dialog with us, and we will work to make this happen.”
The county encourages shelter residents to share any concerns by talking to staff on-site or emailing opehgeneralmail@fairfaxcounty.gov.
Inadequate staff, unhealthy conditions alleged
Founded as Route One Corridor Housing in 1977, New Hope Housing had been a longtime partner of Fairfax County since opening its first homeless shelter, Mondloch House, in 1978. Now located at 3510 Lockheed Blvd in Groveton, Mondloch House was redesigned in 2004 as an eight-bed shelter for chronically homeless, single adults with significant mental health needs.
The nonprofit then launched the 50-bed Kennedy shelter (9155 Richmond Highway) in 1986 and assumed operations of what was then called the Bailey’s Crossroads Community Shelter from Northern Virginia Family Services in October 2017. The current Bailey’s shelter, which combines 52 emergency beds with 18 permanent supportive housing units, opened at 5914 Seminary Road in 2019.
In addition to operating those shelters, New Hope has also worked with the county to offer affordable apartments, supportive housing, hypothermia prevention sites and various services, including medical outreach to unhoused individuals and an Operation Stream Shield initiative that pays people to pick up litter.
However, staff at New Hope’s facilities have described myriad issues in recent years, including missed paychecks, inadequate staffing and supplies, and health and safety concerns from a lack of janitorial and security staff, Annandale Today reported. One worker at an Arlington facility pinpointed the decline to the departure of longtime executive director Pam Michell in 2021.
The nonprofit is now on its third executive director since then, hiring Andre Purnell over the summer after Ashley McSwain — who joined in 2023 following a two-year search for Michell’s successor — stepped down in early June.
OPEH had deemed New Hope out of compliance with its contract and spent more than a year working with the nonprofit to improve the situation with a corrective action plan. According to Annandale Today, issues identified by the plan included failure to provide adequate access to housing options, insufficient staff training, prolonged staff vacancies, a lack of budget tracking and case documentation, and more.
New Hope Housing alleges county funding inadequate
New Hope Housing leaders said in a statement they “strongly reject the narrative” that they have “mismanaged shelter operations,” contending that the recent challenges have instead been the result of underfunding by Fairfax County.
According to the nonprofit, its contract with the county provided only a “shoestring budget” that it had to heavily supplement with private donations, a model it says is “not sustainable.” New Hope argues that OPEH needs to increase its contract rates for nonprofits to enable them “to recruit and retain qualified, compassionate staff.”
More from New Hope Housing:
The reality is that [the] Fairfax County OPEH program has long underfunded these critical services, despite repeated requests from NHH for additional support — requests made years prior to the arrival of our current Executive Director.
The issues we face today are not new. They reflect a longstanding pattern of underinvestment and oversight gaps — both within our organization and within the County’s system. When financial discrepancies came to light, they were not ignored. Addressing these issues transparently was necessary to spark the systemic changes needed to ensure better outcomes for clients, staff, and the broader community.
OPEH, however, says its contract with New Hope Housing “began under mutually agreed-upon terms and rates.”
“Since the last contract award, the Board of Supervisors approved multiple contract rate increases for county-contracted homelessness providers, including New Hope Housing,” OPEH said.
Reiterating that the New Hope Housing contract was terminated “due to contract performance issues” and that county staff had tried to work with the nonprofit up until the cancellation was announced on Sept. 15, the OPEH spokesperson highlighted the importance of a full “community-wide response” to address homelessness, which has been elevated in Fairfax County since the COVID-19 pandemic:
We are fortunate in Fairfax County that so many volunteers, non-profit providers, faith-based organizations, and others rally together to support people experiencing homelessness. In the Bailey’s and Kennedy shelters, regular volunteers have uplifted our guests. Through the Fairfax County Health Department and Community Services Board, public health nurses and behavioral specialists frequently visit the shelter to assist guests. HCD OPEH staff are on-site at the Bailey’s and Kennedy shelters frequently during this transition period as the agency seeks a new services provider.
The county is now managing the apartments and supportive housing programs formerly run by New Hope in addition to the Mondloch, Kennedy and Bailey’s shelters, the OPEH spokesperson confirmed.
New Hope is continuing to operate housing assistance programs in Alexandria City as well as supportive housing programs in Fairfax County that are funded directly by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Executive Director and CEO Andre Purnell says.
