Homeless Services
Homeless Services is an ongoing priority area for the Fairfax City Housing and Human Community Advisory Board (HHCAB), encompassing three primary sub-topics: the hypothermia shelter program (rotating vs. permanent site model), a homeless docket pilot program, and broader homelessness data collection and advocacy. 3 separate matters touch this plan or program; each has its own status.
Beacon Landing
Beacon Landing is a 54-unit supportive affordable housing development co-developed by Wesley Housing and Lamb Center, located within the city. The project drew on 23 separate financing sources, including a $700,000 gap financing investment from the city's Housing Trust Fund in February 2023 — a sum that had accumulated over roughly seven years from cash-in-lieu payments made by developers prior to the city's 2020 Affordable Dwelling Unit ordinance.
- Fairfax County Office to Prevent and End Homelessness (OPEH)
The 2026 Point-in-Time Count identified 1,365 people experiencing homelessness in Fairfax County (a 3% increase), with 65 individuals identified in the City of Fairfax specifically; recent $24M contracts and a $3M Rental Subsidy and Services Program were discussed alongside strained resources.
The City of Fairfax 2035 Comprehensive Plan is the city's primary long-range land use and policy document, guiding development, housing, transportation, and related decisions. A five-year review process culminated on October 8, 2024, when City Council unanimously adopted Resolution R-24-30 approving the updated plan dated September 27, 2024.
- Committee Activity
Board members discussed and prioritized next steps across three homeless services sub-topics: a Homeless Docket (feasibility, court coordination, outcomes tracking), a Hypothermia Program (permanent vs. rotating shelter, transition gaps, financial impact), and general homeless services (federal policy impacts, longer-term solutions).
- Strategy Team Updates
The Homelessness Strategy Team highlighted the importance of data collection and analysis to track local trends within the broader Continuum of Care system; plans include tracking encampments, service utilization, and interdepartmental data, and advancing a homeless docket feasibility analysis. Federal court rulings blocked HUD from implementing its revised CoC Builds Program funding criteria and revised CoC NOFO, ordering reinstatement of prior FY2024–2025 NOFO structures and preserving existing funding while litigation continues.
passedMotion to approve the information sharing/gathering approach of attending various Village in the City events for the Home Sharing Strategy Team.✓ Light✓ LaCroix✓ Delboy✓ Bonaiuto✓ Vincent✓ Ihara✓ Derosier✓ Atwood✓ Gillespie✓ Napolitano✓ Cattaneo✓ Opoku-Yeboah· Anderson· Jensen· Wilber· Cabelli· Hatch
Fairfax Village in the City
Fairfax Village in the City is a volunteer-driven community program in the City of Fairfax that supports older adults and adults with disabilities who wish to remain living independently at home. Its services include transportation assistance, light household help, volunteer matching, social programming (such as a bi-monthly newsletter, a Friday Morning Speaker Series, and an annual Home for Life Expo), and efforts to combat social isolation.
- HHCAB Strategy Teams, Working Session
The Homeless Services Strategy Team discussed hypothermia shelter program models (rotating vs. permanent site) and a potential homeless docket pilot program; the Housing Program Manager will coordinate meetings to gather data and answer outstanding questions on both topics.
- Continuum of Care Program Funding Update
Staff presented the FY2025 HUD Continuum of Care Competition update, noting Fairfax County's Estimated Annual Renewal Demand of $11,860,912 supporting 430 households, challenges from a new 30% cap on permanent housing projects, and pending litigation from 21 states against HUD regarding the CoC NOFO.
- Overview of HHCAB February Meeting Post-It Note Results
Board members reviewed prioritized homelessness-related ideas generated during the February 2, 2026 full HHCAB meeting via a dot-voting exercise. The team agreed to rewrite the hypothermia program goal in HHCAB's work plan to focus on actively engaging in the Continuum of Care and advocating for a formal evaluation of the rotating hypothermia shelter model, and identified routine data tracking priorities including encampment counts and individuals served at The Lamb Center. The team discussed the hypothermia program, including a recent meeting with the NAACP Housing Committee analyzing the rotating vs. fixed-location structure, and a virtual debrief scheduled by the Office to Prevent and End Homelessness on April 3 that the Housing Program Manager will attend. The city's role was noted as engaging in the conversation and advocating for an analysis. Staff reported on preliminary steps toward establishing a Homeless Docket per the Homelessness Task Force priority recommendation: an inquiry was submitted to the City Attorney to assess data availability on misdemeanor cases potentially associated with individuals experiencing homelessness, and to explore cross-referencing with the homeless services system. Staff reported that the Housing Program Manager will hold encampment coordination meetings with the Human Services Division, Parks Department, Police Department, and City Manager's Office at the start and end of each hypothermia shelter season to review policies and ensure smooth implementation.
- Re-write Hypothermia Goal
Discussion covered the rotating hypothermia shelter model, an NAACP Housing Committee workgroup formed to evaluate it, and an OPEH survey sent to service providers and faith communities following an April 3 debrief. A new OPEH Outreach & Overflow Specialist role was noted with a start date of May 4. The team agreed to collect trend data from both the FACETS Outreach Team and The Lamb Center, as well as encampment counts within the City, to better monitor homelessness need over time. Hypothermia shelter program participant counts were also identified as a future useful data point.
In full
Work began in earnest at the October 2025 strategy team session, where the Housing Program Manager was tasked with coordinating meetings to address outstanding questions on the hypothermia program and homeless docket. By early 2026, the full board had participated in a prioritization exercise (February 2) and a dedicated Homelessness Committee meeting (March 23) refined the workplan, agreeing to rewrite the hypothermia goal to focus on engaging the Continuum of Care and advocating for a formal evaluation of the rotating model. A revised hypothermia workplan goal was approved at the April 27 committee meeting, with presentation to the full board scheduled for May 4.
On the data side, the team committed to tracking encampment counts, service utilization at The Lamb Center and FACETS Outreach, and hypothermia program participant counts. A preliminary inquiry to the City Attorney was submitted to assess feasibility of a homeless docket. The June 2026 OPEH presentation reported 65 individuals experiencing homelessness in the City of Fairfax in the 2026 Point-in-Time Count (1,365 countywide, a 3% increase), with resources described as strained.
Federal CoC funding has been a persistent concern: Fairfax County's FY2025 HUD CoC renewal demand is $11,860,912 supporting 430 households, litigation from 21 states against HUD over the CoC NOFO is ongoing, and a federal court blocked HUD from implementing revised CoC funding criteria, ordering reinstatement of prior FY2024–2025 NOFO structures.