Jan. 13, 2015
Fairfax County has pledged to end veteran homelessness by the end of the year.
On Dec. 19, Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova agreed to have the county
become part of the national
Mayors Challenge, an effort announced by first lady Michelle Obama
and amplified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,
the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the United States
Interagency Council on Homelessness and the National League of Cities.
The Mayors Challenge calls for mayors (and other jurisdiction leaders) to
make a commitment to ending veteran homelessness in their communities in
2015.
I am honored to partner with the Obama administration, nonprofit
organizations, neighboring jurisdictions and the private sector to end
veteran homelessness in the United States by the end of 2015. Honoring
and taking care of our veterans is one of the most important things we
can do as a nation, and Fairfax County will certainly do our part in
making this goal a reality, Bulova said.
The Mayors Challenge is a piece of the larger federal Opening Doors
initiative to end homelessness. As outlined by the program, ending
veteran homelessness means reaching the point where there are no veterans
sleeping on the streets and every veteran has access to permanent
housing. Further, the initiative will work to provide systems so that
should veterans become homeless or be at-risk of becoming homeless,
communities will have the capacity to quickly connect them to the help
they need to achieve housing stability.
“We are excited to be able to move forward with renewed energy by
participating with cities all over the country in the Mayors Challenge to
end homelessness for veterans here in Fairfax-Falls Church by the end of
2015,” adds Dean Klein, director of the Fairfax County Office to Prevent and End Homelessness.
During the 2014
Point-in-Time Count of homeless persons in Fairfax County, 8 percent
of all single adults who were homeless (45 individuals) identified
themselves as veterans. Additionally, the 2014 count found six veterans
living in families with children. Nationally, the number of veterans
experiencing homelessness has decreased by about 33 percent since the
beginning of the national Opening Doors initiative to end homelessness
launched in 2010.
Learn more about efforts to prevent and end
homelessness in Fairfax County.
