FACETS Expands Rapid Re-Housing Efforts to Family Shelter in Alexandria
Fairfax County recently selected FACETS to manage the county’s Next Steps Family Program in Alexandria and help more people who are homeless find housing and get connected to life-changing services through the Next Steps Family Program.
“We look forward to partnering with Next Steps’ families to provide outstanding services so they can stabilize their lives. Getting people back to work and in homes is critical for the health of a family and community. Next Steps is an important part of preventing and ending homelessness in our county,” explained Margi Preston, executive director, FACETS, a nonprofit that opens doors to those who suffer the effects of poverty in Fairfax County.
The Next Steps Family Program is an 18-unit emergency shelter for families experiencing homelessness that is located in the Route 1 Corridor of Alexandria, a part of the county that has the highest number of calls for assistance. Families referred to the shelter participate in the Next Steps Family Program, which has a goal of rapidly getting families back into safe, sustainable and permanent housing as well as reducing the amount of time families with children experience homelessness. During their short stay at the shelter, participants frequently visit with trained case managers who connect them with services that prepare them to become self-sufficient.
Rapid re-housing is a proven and cost-effective strategy used by communities across the country to reduce homelessness. In fact, from 2010 to 2013 family homelessness in Virginia decreased 17 percent, largely due to rapid re-housing. It involves helping households move into housing as quickly as possible after they enter the shelter system. Families and individuals are housed in market-rate apartments or houses in the community and receive rental subsidies and/or services that are tailored to their specific needs, including a caseworker to help ease the transition.
More information can be found at www.FACETSCares.org.
