For many people, the image that comes to mind when they think of homelessness is the person sleeping on a bench or standing on the side of the road holding a cardboard sign. In reality, homelessness takes many forms and affects families and individuals from all walks of life who often go unnoticed by the community around them.
The reasons why families and individuals experience homelessness are as diverse as the people it touches. Job loss, mental illness, family breakup, eviction, a natural disaster, and the inability to afford housing due to expensive health care costs are just a few examples. Most of the time, people become homeless because of multiple, compounding issues like these.
What makes homelessness even more challenging is that people move in and out of homelessness on an ongoing basis, which means the number of people who are homeless is constantly changing.
The first and perhaps most important goal toward solving any problem effectively, especially one as complex as homelessness, is to develop shared understanding and clarity of the issue.
Community of One Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness
In October 2017, the Virginia Beach City Council voted to adopt "Community of One" as the city's strategic plan to address homelessness for 2017-2020. The plan is the collective work of faith, city, and nonprofit organizations, and represents the vision of the entire community to make homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring. BEACH has begun the process of updating the strategic plan.
Homeless Service System
Local government, nonprofit service providers, and the faith community have partnered to create a streamlined, standardized, coordinated, and integrated system for delivering homeless services in Virginia Beach.
Learn moreSolutions
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for every homeless situation. Our homeless service system implements proven strategies and best practices to achieve the goal of making homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring.
Learn moreData
We rely on various sources of data to determine how many people are homeless in Virginia Beach and understand the needs of our community.
Learn moreFacts & Myths
Our perception and assumptions can easily shape our understanding of homelessness as an issue. Find responses to common questions and misperceptions about homelessness.
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