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Study finds rising homelessness on Virginia Peninsula, urges regional system changes
Summary
Consultants presenting a 2024 Virginia Peninsula homelessness study told Newport News City Council the region faces rising homelessness, housing-cost-driven inflows and service gaps, and recommended a seven-part structural and regional response focused on housing access, system transformation and funding alignment.
VM Advising consultants presented findings from a 2024 Virginia Peninsula homelessness study to the Newport News City Council on May 13, saying homelessness on the Peninsula is increasing and that Newport News and Hampton shoulder the largest shares of people experiencing homelessness.
The consultants told council the study — commissioned by the city and conducted with regional partners including the City of Hampton, York County, the City of Williamsburg, James City County and the Greater Virginia Peninsula Homelessness Consortium — analyzed root causes, assessed existing services and modeled system needs to inform recommendations for a coordinated regional response.
The study projects a 15% increase in calls to crisis hotlines from households considered "literally homeless" under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) definition and estimates that more than 2,000 people experience homelessness in a given year across the Peninsula. The report also found one in five people experiencing homelessness has severe mental illness or…
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