Reston Strong | FFXnow

With plans for a temporary shelter still in limbo, Reston’s unhoused residents brace for summer heat and change

Published May 8, 2024 at 3:45PM | Updated May 10, 2024 at 2:04PM

Xavier Turner and Andy "Pops" Whiddon at an encampment in Reston (staff photo by James Jarvis)

(Updated at 2 p.m. on 05/10/2024) As the Virginia summer looms, residents of Reston’s tent encampment are preparing for challenges beyond sweltering temperatures.

Many are anxious about the impending installation of no-trespassing signs, which will mark the beginning of a two-week countdown before they must leave the forested area between Inova’s emergency room, the North County Government Center and Sunrise Assisted Living. The encampment stretches across multiple properties owned by Inova and the county.

News

Fairfax County to clear Reston homeless encampment, open temporary shelter

By Fatimah Waseem

Published March 28, 2024 at 3:30PM | Updated March 28, 2024 at 5:03PM

An encampment has taken shape in recent years near the Sunrise Assisted Living in Reston (staff photo by Fatimah Waseem)

A tent encampment housing between 20 and 35 individuals in the woods between Inova’s emergency room and Sunrise Assisted Living Center in Reston may soon fold.

Fairfax County officials hope to open up a temporary overflow shelter in a government building in the Reston Town Center North area to accommodate the people who’ve been living in the tents.

News

Former board president steps down from Reston Association board

By Fatimah Waseem

Published May 31, 2023 at 9:30AM

Reston Association

Sarah Selvaraj-D’Souza, former president of Reston Association’s Board of Directors, has resigned from her position after more than three years on the board.

In a Facebook post announcing her resignation on Friday (May 26), Selvaraj-D’Souza said her commitments to other projects and her nonprofit advocacy organization Reston Strong motivated her decision to resign.

News

Last tent removed from Reston Strong protest to raise awareness of homelessness

By Fatimah Waseem

Published October 17, 2022 at 1:30PM | Updated October 17, 2022 at 3:49PM

The last tent from Neighbors in Tents campaign at Alcorn's office was removed earlier this month (via Reston Strong)

(Updated at 3:30 p.m.) A demonstration that brought tents to the North County Government Center in a push for more supportive housing in Reston has come to a close after the final tent was officially removed late last week.

Reston Strong, the nonprofit organization behind the protest to increase Fairfax County’s affordable housing stock, announced that the last tent in front of Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn’s office was removed after it was first installed on April 4.

Countywide

Reston Strong marks 100 days of tent protest at North County Government Center

By Fatimah Waseem

Published July 13, 2022 at 2:15PM

100 funeral wreaths were delivered to the North County Government Center to raise awareness about homelessness (via Reston Strong)

Reston Strong, a local volunteer-run advocacy organization, is commemorating the 100th day of its Neighbors in Tents campaign to address homelessness in Fairfax County.

On Tuesday, the organization marked the 100th day of unhoused residents staying in a temporary tent community in front of the North County Government building. The tents were set up this spring as an alternative after the county’s hypothermia and COVID-19 emergency shelters wound down.

Countywide

Tents return to raise awareness about homelessness in Reston

By Fatimah Waseem

Published April 6, 2022 at 9:45AM | Updated April 6, 2022 at 10:20AM

Reston Strong is raising awareness about homelessness in the community through a tents campaign (Photo via Reston Strong).

A familiar sight of tents returned to Reston Monday night (April 4), as a local advocacy organization seeks to raise awareness about homelessness and the lack of affordable housing alternatives in the area.

Right outside Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn’s office, Reston Strong set up tents to push officials to find solutions to homelessness. The campaign, coined Neighbors in Tents, launched formally in February.