On April 29, more than 130 representatives from the city, faith community and non-profit organizations attended the Virginia Beach Faith-Based Forum on Homelessness at the Virginia Beach Higher Education Center to learn more about each other’s work and plans on addressing homelessness. The forum highlighted the progress that has been made in ending homelessness by each group and focused on how they can do more together by creating and enhancing partnerships to address key issues.

“The faith community has always devoted its time and resources to help the homeless,” said Andrew Friedman, Department of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation director. “The city and non-profit agencies who help the homeless have also partnered with the faith community for many years now. The goal of this forum was to identify opportunities to work together better and make more progress on ending homelessness.”

Mayor William D. Sessoms, Jr. provided opening remarks at the event, in which he recognized the faith community and non-profit agencies’ efforts and the city’s partnership with them and its neighboring cities on regional projects on ending homelessness. During the event, attendees broke out into small group discussions to understand each other’s current homelessness programs and services, the challenges they face and how to enhance their work on single and family homelessness, skillstraining, fundraising, and service coordination and communication between churches. 

Selected leaders from each discussion group will meet again with city and non-profit agencies on May 5 at the Municipal Center to evaluate the suggestions and concerns presented at the forum and create plans for moving forward.

For more information, contact Andrew Friedman at (757) 385-5752.

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