Politics & Government

Fairfax County Homeless Population Down 12 Percent from 2012

Officials will highlight successes, challenges in full report to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments on April 10.

Fairfax County’s homeless population has declined 12 percent in the last year and 26 percent since 2007, according to a new report from the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Partnership to Prevent and End Homelessness.

According to agency’s annual “point-in-time” survey, the number of homeless people in the county has decreased by 184, from 1,534 in 2012 to 1,350 in 2013. The number of homeless has also decreased by 463 since 2007, down from 1,813, the Connection reports.

The count was conducted over a one-day period in January, per requirements from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Only people who are literally homeless and living in shelters, transitional housing or on the street are counted in the survey.

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This allows localities to gather valuable information on their homeless demographics and potentially qualify for state and federal funding grants to help.

The details of "point-in-time" surveys for the entire D.C. metro region will be presented during the Wednesday, April 10 meeting of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

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In late February 2013,

, a national initiative to find affordable housing for people who have lived on the street for more than a year.

Of the 462 registered chronically homeless people, nearly a quarter were between the ages of 18 and 34. More than three quarters of the interviewees were male, and 40 percent of those interviewed had a disability.

Fairfax County has a 10-year plan to end homelessness, and officials told the Connection their initiatives seem to be working.

The Community Partnership to End Homelessness will monitor the progress of the 462 interviewees of the 100,000 Homes Campaign as they look for affordable housing.


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