The South Hampton Roads Regional Task Force on Ending Homelessness is a collaboration of seven localities in Virginia -- the Cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Isle of Wight County -- and non-profit organizations, The Planning Council and United Way of South Hampton Roads.
Formed in 2005, the task force is the "working group" that implements the regional activities approved by the Mayors and Chairs of these localities. It consists of staff participants from a variety of offices in the localities, all dedicated to getting regional projects accomplished. Together, through the task force, these localities and organizations address homelessness on a regional basis as an addition to each locality's individual efforts.
South Hampton Roads Regional Task Force Brochure
Housing Needs Assessment for South Hampton Roads
Benefits of Regional Cooperation
The cooperation of localities to address homelessness has produced benefits to citizens and to the governments themselves in the following ways:
- The risk to each city of moving too far on its own and being seen as an attraction for homelessness is reduced; rather, the risk and the benefits are shared regionally.
- Funding and resources are leveraged.
- Major housing projects, that none of the localities would likely have been able to afford on its own, have been developed or are in the process.
- Ideas and strategies for addressing regional homelessness are communicated and shared between the localities.
Major Accomplishments
As a result of their regional cooperation, the South Hampton Roads Regional Task Force on Ending Homelessness has achieved major successes in raising awareness, building new housing units, leveraging funding, and expanding access to existing housing. The South Hampton Roads localities achieved results together that they could not have achieved separately.
Their major accomplishments include:
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Report on regional homelessness: "Homelessness in Southside Hampton Roads" - This report has become a key tool for educating city leaders, organizations and the public about the scope of the homelessness issue in the region.
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Affordable housing database: "Housing Connect" - Streamlines the search process for low-to-moderate income households and connects them to the affordable rental properties and housing resources in the region. The link to "Housing Connect" can be found on the right under "Related Links."
- South Hampton Roads Regional Conferences on Ending Homelessness - Conferences are held to share national best practices and promote strategic planning in addressing homelessness.
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Regional Efficiency Apartments: Each complex provides units of permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless single adults in the region. These projects have decreased homelessness and added to the stock of permanent supportive housing in South Hampton Roads. They also enhance the physical quality of the community y transforming vacant property or dilapidated structures into quality, viable housing and tax-generating properties in the cities where they are located. A total of 400 units of affordable housing have been created in four cities:
- Gosnold in Norfolk
- Cloverleaf in Virginia Beach
- South Bay in Portsmouth
- Heron's Landing in Chesapeake
- Crescent Square in Virginia Beach
- Church Street Station Studios in Norfolk
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South Hampton Roads Regional Plan to End Homelessness - The regional plan will commit the localities to continuing to work together and will not substitute or override each locality's own plan to end homelessness, but rather build upon them. It will also demonstrate each locality's commitment to work together in a way that reduces overall costs and increases overall benefits, without shifting the costs or burdens around the region.