Fairfax Continuum of Care board backs shelter-before-removal standard, raises limits on outside witnesses and storage proposals

The Continuum of Care Board and county staff presented a set of responses to six recommendations from the NAACP about encampment closures to the Fairfax County Housing Committee on March 25, emphasizing that shelter should be offered before clearing an encampment, that mental-health co-responders should accompany closures when possible, and that the board does not support mandating outside witnesses during removals.

David Meyer, chair of the Continuum of Care Board and a former mayor, told the committee: "The Board agrees, with this, that, the shelter, that, shelter should be provided for individuals in an encampment, before it is closed." The board also acknowledged constraints on shelter capacity, fire-code limits for floor-space use and operational resources for nonprofit shelter partners.

Key points from the Continuum of Care response - Shelter before removal: The board agreed that the county should provide indoor shelter (including overnight accommodation and, for vulnerable individuals, daytime shelter) before an encampment is closed, but it noted that current bed capacity is insufficient to guarantee shelter for every adult and that…