Public Weighs In On Homelessness Task Force's Draft Recommendations

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — About 100 Fairfax City residents converged on the Sherwood Community Center Thursday night to participate in roundtable discussions to provide feedback on the city's response to homelessness in the community.

Earlier in the week, the City of Fairfax Homelessness Task Force released draft recommendations for the city council to consider on how it could better address issues regarding the city's unhoused residents.

Led by Councilmembers So Lim and Kate Doyle Feingold, along with Mayor Catherine Read, the task force includes city residents and businesses owners. It also includes representatives of the local human service organizations connected to the Partnership to Prevent and End Homelessness service continuum(External link), including the Lamb Center(External link), FACETS(External link), A Place to Stand(External link), and the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board.

The task force has been meeting regularly since May 1, 2023 to discuss feedback gathered from three public listening sessions focused on homelessness in the city.

"We got some negative feedback from the community. 'What are you guys doing? Nothing is getting done,'" Lim said before the start of Tuesday's roundtable. "We're being very holistic to the whole matter. We're looking at every angle, senior citizens as well as homelessness and business owners."

Related: Strategies To Deal With The Homeless In Fairfax City Will Be The Focus Of New Task Force

The task force also discussed the possibility of applying for grants to add to the $50,000 dedicated to homelessness the city council set aside in the budget it just passed, according to Lim.

But the fruit of the task force's labors is the draft document containing 38 recommendations for the city council to consider. The areas of focus include: Legal and Policy; Administrative; Business Community; Services and Support; Shelter and Housing; Education and Outreach; and Data and Research.

Examples of draft recommendations include:

• Coordinate with the City Attorney to conduct a review of legal parameters for issues such as encampments, sleeping in parks, sleeping in cars, sleeping in bus shelters, sleeping on sidewalks, shared housing and single room occupancy (SRO), etc. A report of existing City laws and policies should be given to City Council for review. (Legal and Policy)
• Learn more about business needs for zoning special exceptions (e.g. fences in certain places, the removal of shrubbery, etc.) to reduce the impact of misdemeanor crime on City businesses. (Business Community)
• Assess the need for expanded mobile and other outreach services to engage individuals and families who are unhoused or at-risk of homelessness in available services and supports linking outreach services to the Community Response Team and public safety agencies. Assess the process for outreach staff to respond to resident and business reports. (Services and Support)
• Evaluate the potential of a establishing a City of Fairfax Housing Trust Fund to encourage cost-share partnerships, stimulate affordable housing, and maximize public properties. (Shelter and Housing)

"The task force really did a lot of thinking," said Lesley Abashian, the city's director of human services "They spent a lot of time looking very broadly and making these recommendations, understanding that the mayor and city council will have to help us prioritize. We won't be able to do all of them or do them all at the same time."

City residents participating in Thursday night's roundtable had a chance to spend five minutes at each table, where a set of recommendations was being discussed. They then wrote down their feedback before going to the next table to consider the recommendations being discussed there.

The next step in the process will be for the task force to meet to consider the participants' input and adjust the recommendations. The task force will make its final recommendations to the city council on June 25.

For more information or to review the draft recommendations and provide feedback, visit the Homeless Task Force's page on the city's website.