Continuum of Care: 304 unsheltered people counted in January; nonprofits urge coordinated, funded response

The Virgin Islands Continuum of Care on March 28 told a legislative committee that the territory’s point‑in‑time survey on Jan. 24, 2025 identified 304 unsheltered people and that available shelter and supportive housing capacity is far smaller than need.

At a hearing on affordable housing and homelessness, Continuum of Care chair Dan de Rima said the January count found 304 unsheltered people across the territory — 185 on St. Thomas, 98 on St. Croix and 21 on St. John — and stressed those numbers do not capture people who are “couch surfing” or temporarily staying with friends.

Why it matters: The continuum reported a territory‑wide housing inventory of 92 beds dedicated to homelessness services — 16 emergency‑shelter beds, 53 transitional beds and 23 permanent supportive housing beds — leaving a large gap between need and dedicated capacity.

Nonprofit testimony and daily experience: Meeting the Needs of the Community (MTOC) and Catholic Charities of the Virgin Islands described steady outreach and shelter work and urged stronger interagency coordination and predictable funding. Catholic Charities said it operates Bethlehem House Shelter (40 beds on St. Thomas) and St. Teresa of Calcutta House of Hope (11 studio apartments on St. Croix) and continues to serve older adults, veterans and people with complex needs.

The continuum’s operations: De Rima and other witnesses described several administrative obstacles. The Continuum of Care is incorporated and working to register with sam.gov, obtain a unique entity identifier and open a bank account so it can receive legislative appropriations included by the previous legislature; those steps are required before planning grant funds can be used directly. The collaborative applicant for CoC grants remains the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority, which the continuum said is working with the COC to clear planning tasks.

Program limits and federal rules: Continuum testimony said the territory’s COC is not yet in full compliance with HUD’s coordinated entry system (CES) requirement; until CES is fully implemented the territory can renew existing Continuum of Care grants but is limited in applying for new HUD CoC funds. De Rima said the COC planning grant is $35,000 a year and that a scheduled technical‑assistance engagement was canceled after last year’s executive reorganization activity at the territorial level.

Counting, data and next steps: The COC reported that homeless management information systems (HMIS) data and cross‑agency data sharing remain incomplete and that integrating Department of Human Services and Department of Health records would give a fuller picture. The COC and nonprofit witnesses urged the legislature and executive branch to prioritize expansion of emergency shelter, transitional housing and permanent supportive housing — spaces that include wrap‑around services for people with behavioral‑health or substance‑use needs.

Quotations in this article are drawn from testimony on March 28 from Dan de Rima (Meeting the Needs of the Community and chair, Virgin Islands Continuum of Care), Andrea Shillingford (Catholic Charities of the Virgin Islands) and related nonprofit testimony.