LOCAL EVENT LAUNCHED IN CONJUNCTION WITH GOVERNOR McDONNELL’S ANNOUNCEMENT OF A NEW PUBLIC – PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP FOCUSED ON REDUCING HOMELESSNESS FOR VIRGINIA’S CHILDREN

GOAL IS TO INCREASE RAPID RE-HOUSING IN COMMUNITIES AND SELF SUFFICIENCY FOR VIRGINIA’S FAMILIES

City, VA – December 1, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development has partnered with the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness and the National Alliance to End Homelessness in a new initiative aimed at meeting the Governor’s goal of reducing homelessness by 15 percent for children and their families in urban, suburban, and rural communities across the Commonwealth. The new initiative, sponsored by the Freddie Mac Foundation, was announced in conjunction with the Governor’s Housing Conference.

The initiative will help communities improve the availability of affordable housing for children and their families experiencing homelessness by increasing the provision of rapid re-housing. Rapid re-housing is a proven solution to homelessness for children and their families. It permanently ends homelessness and is often more cost-efficient than current programs.

Homelessness among Virginia’s children and their families was decreasing until 2008 when the financial downturn struck. High rates of unemployment and poverty have contributed to higher rates of homelessness in Virginia.

In response, the Commonwealth of Virginia released a plan in November 2010 to reduce homelessness by 15 percent by 2013. One of the main strategies of the plan is to increase rapid re-housing. “The state plan is aligned with the paradigm shift taking place across the country in the way that communities respond to homelessness,” stated Bill Shelton, Director of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. “A rapid re-housing model views obtaining housing as a critical first step in helping individuals and families live productive lives. Once in housing, tailored services are delivered to ensure that the family remains in housing and does not experience homelessness again.”

“Rapid Re-Housing is a strategy that has been successfully used by many communities to reduce rates of homelessness,” stated Nan Roman, President and CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. “Research shows that most households experience homelessness as a result of a financial crisis that prevents them from paying rent, or a domestic conflict that results in one member being ejected or leaving with no money to pay for housing. Most households who experience homelessness today have already lived in their own housing, and they can generally return and remain stably housed.”

The initiative will aim to replicate the work of other communities from across the nation in using rapid re-housing to reduce homelessness for children and their families. It will build on the experiences of Virginia’s communities in delivering rapid re-housing and will specifically focus on identifying and implementing solutions to move children and their families out of emergency shelter and into their own homes.

Virginia service providers, local government, and state government were recipients of federal funding for both homeless prevention and rapid re-housing programs through the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP.) As these funds diminsish, this pilot initiative will focus on serving homeless youth identified by the City and County’s school systems.

“There is no better time than now to prioritize ending homelessness for children and their families,” stated Phyllis Chamberlain, Executive Director of the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness. “We know that homeless children are four times more likely to experience delayed development, twice as likely to have learning disabilities, and three times as likely to experience emotional and behavioral problems, and have higher rates of anxiety, depression, and withdrawal. The time is now to ensure that Virginia’s children have the opportunity for bright futures through stable housing.”

Public forums are scheduled in various communities around the Commonwealth (see below), and representatives from the business, non-profit, public sector and faith-based communities are invited to attend to attend.

Harrisonburg Nov. 30 8:00 – 10:00am Lucy Simms Center 620 Simms Avenue
Roanoke Nov. 30 2:00 – 4:00pm Greene Mem’l United Meth. Church 402 2nd Street SW
Abingdon Dec. 1 10:00 – 12:00pm SW Higher Education Ctr. One Partnership Circle
Newport News Dec. 6 10:00 – 12:00pm Pearl Bailey Library 2510 Wickham Avenue
Norfolk Dec. 6 2:00 – 4:00pm Pretlow Library 111 W. Ocean View Ave.
Richmond Dec. 7 1:00 – 3:00pm TBD TBD
Fairfax Dec. 8 1:00 – 3:00pm Lee Community Ctr.-Lee Gym 2855-A Annandale Rd.
(Falls Church)

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The National Alliance to End Homelessness is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States. For more information visit www.endhomelessness.org

The Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness is the statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness in the Commonwealth of Virginia through community collaboration, capacity building, education, and advocacy. For more information visit www.vceh.org

The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) is a state government agency committed to creating safe, affordable, and prosperous communities to live, work and do business in Virginia. By partnering with local governments, nonprofit groups, state and federal agencies and others, DHCD is working to improve the quality of life for Virginians. For more information, visit www.dhcd.virginia.gov

For more information on the initiative, visit http://www.vceh.org/rapid-re-housing

Contacts:
David Young, 804-332-0604, davidyoung (at) vceh (dot) org
Catherine An, 202-942-8297, can (at) naeh (dot) org
Amanda Pearson, 804-371-7006, amanda.pearson (at) dhcd.virginia (dot) gov