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Local nonprofits, social services and city update outline shelter plans and funding needs
Summary
At the Dec. 17 Suffolk City Council meeting, CAPS, 4Kids, Western Tidewater Free Clinic and Suffolk Social Services described rising demand for homelessness services and asked council to consider increased support; city staff said the Western Tidewater Shelter (former Regal Inn) is on track to open the week of Jan. 12, 2026.
Sharon Holland, executive director of Coalition Against Poverty in Suffolk (CAPS), told the council the nonprofit is asking for increased ongoing funding to meet a growing gap in services for families with children experiencing homelessness. CAPS plans a rotating night shelter that will run Dec. 31–March 11 with hopes to extend into April 2026, and Holland said CAPS served about 172 households representing roughly 600 people in the most recent year.
Thaler McCormick, CEO of 4Kids, described the scale and persistence of family homelessness in Suffolk: the Birdsong Center serves roughly 93 families and almost 200 children on a typical day, and children in families experiencing homelessness face chronic absenteeism McCormick put at about 55 percent. McCormick said 4Kids has secured nearly $500,000 in rapid rehousing assistance to pay…
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