Council hears homelessness update and oceanfront safety briefing; police urge broader legal tools

City housing and neighborhood-preservation staff briefed council on the city's homelessness system, outreach and encampment response strategy, and then Virginia Beach Police Department leaders gave a separate briefing on oceanfront crime trends, recent firearm interdictions and enforcement challenges.

Housing and homelessness: scope and services

Housing staff described the city's approach to preventing and ending homelessness and outlined system capacity and outcomes. Staff said the city's point-in-time count rose from 311 in 2024 to 327 in 2025 (a snapshot conducted on Jan. 23, 2025), and noted that unsheltered counts vary daily. Staff reported approximately 150 people unsheltered at any given time, an on-the-record by-name list of roughly 318 people (sheltered and unsheltered), and roughly 30–35 known encampments. The city's system total was described as 207 shelter beds with the following breakdown cited on the record: 88 single-adult shelter beds, about 40 family beds (for families with children), 53 beds serving survivors of domestic violence, 10 youth beds, and 16 transitional beds.

Staff described outcomes from recent work: since March 2024 the city reported clearing about 100 encampments, connecting roughly 20 individuals to shelter during those clearances, with 5–10 people subsequently exiting to permanent housing from shelter. The outreach team was described as a five-person unit (one team lead plus four housing navigators) whose role is relationship-building and housing navigation, not enforcement.

Funding and programs

Sta…