During a recent city council meeting, the Fairfax City Homelessness Task Force presented its findings and recommendations after a year of collaborative efforts to address homelessness in the region. Council member Soe Lim initiated the task force in December 2022, and it has since engaged various stakeholders, including residents, business owners, and local government officials.

Deputy City Manager Val Marie Turner provided an overview of the task force's work, highlighting key statistics that reveal the complexity of homelessness in Fairfax County. Currently, 60% of the homeless population is unsheltered, living in cars, on the streets, or in encampments. The report identified three primary categories of homelessness: transitional, episodic, and chronic. Notably, while there was a 2% decrease in the overall number of unhoused individuals, chronic homelessness increased by 17% in the region.

The task force's findings also indicated that 30% of adults experiencing homelessness are employed, and a significant portion of the unhoused population is aged 55 and older, reflecting a national trend of older adults becoming increasingly vulnerable to homelessness.

Key root causes of homelessness identified include a lack of affordable housing and the high cost of living in the area. For instance, a full-time minimum wage worker would need to work 73 hours a week to afford a one-bedroom apartment.

The task force, which began meeting in May 2023, developed 38 recommendations categorized into seven areas, including legal and policy, administrative, and community services. Among the top priorities are the establishment of a homelessness docket to address legal challenges faced by unhoused individuals and the creation of a permanent housing and homelessness advisory board.

The council is now considering the task force's recommendations, which aim to create a more supportive community for all residents, particularly those experiencing homelessness. The next steps include establishing the advisory board and assessing the resources needed for effective implementation of the proposed strategies.