* Public Comments, Questions & City Responses are Now Posted Under "Related Information" *
The Department of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation has been engaged in planning activities to improve the Virginia Beach housing crisis response system. A major focus of this initiative will be to develop a plan for a “one-stop-shop,” housing resource center.*
What is a housing resource center?
This presentation explains the philosophy behind the one-stop-shop approach. It was presented at the planning kick-off meeting, held on Dec. 5, 2011 at Beach Fellowship Church.
What a Virginia Beach housing resource center could be:
- A site with well-designed facilities in which clients and the surrounding neighborhood can feel a sense of pride and dignity.
- A place where individuals experiencing an episode of homelessness will come to work on their housing barriers, be empowered, and transition to a stable housing situation.
- A place where multiple services and resource are consolidated so that clients can spend more time improving their situation and less time traveling throughout the community simply to meet their daily needs.
- An ongoing partnership between city agencies, non-profits, faith-based organizations, private enterprises, and the community.
What a Virginia Beach housing resource center WILL NOT be:
- A place where every single homeless individual in Virginia Beach will be sheltered indefinitely.
- A place where anyone can just “hang out,” without a personal improvement plan.
- A facility that is poorly managed and detracts from the surrounding community.
Services a Virginia Beach housing resource center could provide:
- Centralized intake and assessment
- Housing crisis case management
- Short-term, over-night shelter for singles, families and disconnected youth
- Life-skills coaching
- Education programs
- Job-skills training
- Charitable medical and dental care
- Connection to mainstream social services
- And more