$6.00 Annandale Chamber of Commerce ENDEAVOR January 2021 www.annandalechamber.com Building the Annandale Marketplace Helping the Homeless 2 New Hope Housing & Bailey’s Shelter 3 Real Estate: Supportive Housing Needed Now More than Ever Brighter Days Ahead By: Jan Sacharko, New Hope Housing 4 From Capitol Hill A Hectic Year Everything changed at Bailey’s 5 Umbrella Insurance when the coronavirus pandem- ic began this year. When the 6 NOVA Wins Award outbreak began, there were two important questions to answer ENERGY SENSE for homeless people and the 7 Winter Tips services we provide: 1) How 8 Land Use do you stay safe-at-home when Hummer Road you don’t have a home? And 2) How do you socially distance The Police Beat 9 in a full homeless shelter? 10 Meet the Artisan: Gail Robins In Fairfax County, county and nonprofit leaders convened to Lambros Jewelry 11 create action plans. Using CARES Act funding and The Power of Just One shared resources, Fairfax 13 Street County began master-leasing several vacant hotels to be used 14 VIEW ON NATURE Hines, had only begun working at the shel- as additional shelter sites with nonprofit partners nd responsible for staffing and managing these pro- ter on March 2 , 2020, days before the ini- Get Hooked tial nationwide shutdown due to the pan- 15 Winter Fishing grams. Once these opened, half of the guests in each shelter in the county moved to these hotels. demic. The following week, New Hope 17 What a Difference Priority was given to older homeless guests and Housing suspended all on-site volunteer a Century Makes 1921 activities in order to limit the number of guests with certain medical conditions so that they could safely isolate in hotel rooms. Shelter people at the shelter. Many volunteers 19 Washington 1921 continued to serve in new ways, and dozens staff have continued to provide case manage- ment services such as housing and employment of new volunteers signed up, too. Groups 20 Uncovered: and individuals were preparing hot meals or Symbol of Resistance? services to guests at the hotel sites to enable ordering catered meals from local struggling them to move to safe and affordable housing. 21 Opportunity Neighbor- These sites are also serving as isolation and restaurants. Some volunteers began to pro- hood in Annandale quarantine shelter for non-homeless people who vide mentoring services or host game nights have been exposed to COVID and cannot safely through Zoom. Connect with the Made 23 quarantine otherwise. These sites are expected to in Fairfax Network remain open at least through June 30, 2021. The Hypo program has been altered across Fairfax County as well. This year, one coun- 24 ROADS AND RAGE ty-owned building in each region has been More than 900 people have used these sites since designated as sole location for hypothermia Criminal Justice opening in mid-April. 25 Diversion First prevention shelter rather than rotating https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/housing/news/ fairfax-falls-church-community-partnership- through faith communities. The Lincolnia 26 Virginia Reader’s prevent-and-end-homelessness-newsletter-dec- Senior Center at 4710 North Chambliss St. Choice for Kids is the location for Region 2. This location is 2020 now open and serving guests. Meals are 27 CHAMBER CHAT The current Bailey’s Shelter Director, Raynel January 2021 2 ENDEAVOR Helping the Homeless Fairfax County reduced its homeless population by nearly 50% over the ten-year period 2008-2018. Now, Covid adds one more challenge. Bailey’s Shelter and Supportive Housing 5914 Seminary Rd. Falls Church, VA 22041 (703) 820-7621 being donated by community groups and individuals. The site There are many ways to volunteer and serve your homeless has limited capacity due to social distancing but accommoda- neighbors. Please contact Kelley McKeon at kmc- tions will be made to ensure that everyone has access to shelter. [email protected] to learn more. Anyone in need of emergency shelter this winter should access the Fairfax County site here: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/ homeless/hypothermia-prevention-program The development of the new Bailey’s Shelter and Supportive Housing was listed as a highlight of the Fairfax County Ten Year Plan To End Homelessness retrospective report produced in 2018. While Fairfax County reduced its homeless population by nearly 50% over the ten-year period 2008-2018, there were many challenges to meet the ambitious goal. Chief among them was the lack of affordable housing. Local budget cutbacks due to the recession in 2010, and reduced federal funding due to sequestration in 2013 hampered the ability to create more af- fordable units. https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/homeless/sites/ homeless/files/assets/documents/15978_ffx% 20cty_homelessness_report%20v8_release_web_508.pdf “We were proud to have been accepted as the non- profit partner at Bailey’s Shelter and Supportive Housing three years ago, and I’m proud of my staff for the work they’ve done to adapt to changing needs due to COVID,” shared Pamela L. Michell, executive director of New Hope Housing. “We miss seeing the faces of our volunteers, but we see the impact of their Catered meals from Subway service daily and look forward to when Bailey’s can be an open and welcoming community service site again.” New Hope Housing is an innovative nonprofit agency providing shelter, transitional and permanent supportive housing, outreach and support services for homeless families and single adults in Fairfax County, City of Alexandria, Arlington County, and City of Falls Church. Founded in 1977 on Route One, New Hope Housing is committed to finding creative and lasting solutions to end the cycle of homelessness by offering homeless men, women and children the services they need to change their lives and succeed. For more information, visit www.newhopehousing.org January 2021 ENDEAVOR 3 Annandale REAL ESTATE Escape to the Country By: Pat Sawhney To parody a BBC popular program where a Realtor shows a cou- ple three properties somewhere in the bucolic English countryside, we are seeing a similar trend in our own Metro area. Just last month my clients closed on a lovely expanded and up- graded Rambler (great floorplan) on over one acre in Prince Wil- liam County. The hunt had included seeing eight properties and writing offers on four of them before we were successful. Why? Because too many other potential buyers wanted the same proper- ties, even ones needing over $50K in renovations! Finally, we landed the best property by pulling out all the stops in our offer— no home inspection, pay the first $500 of any septic or well re- pairs, etc. etc. This property was well worth the wait! The major criteria was to have a large lot with privacy. They escaped from a small one level home in a very large subdivision wanting both extensive outdoor space for the family and significantly more inte- Charming old farmhouse with large kitchen-family room addition at rear rior space. and guest quarters with home office in stand alone barn on this property. In this new Covid-19 world, people are not only looking to move has been gradually increasing. Virtual meetings and group out to the country, but also to find a home with space for one or rented conference space available in every suburb has made even two home offices as commuting distance is not the major working from home or in less expensive leased space in outer criterion. counties a definite trend. With Covid-19 rearing its ugly head, people are adjusting to, and liking, this virtual work environ- Being at home more (or practically all) of the time, buyers are ment. Does anyone really miss the commute? As a result, looking around their current home and rethinking their needs and workers are even more productive by being able to fill the pre- space requirements; they are now spending more time outdoors, vious commuting hours with additional work time and spending preferably on their own property. Have you noticed the increase more time with their housemates & families. in landscaping projects? And, how about all the people who are hiring contractors to renovate their current space or to add space? Have you ever wondered if commercial space could be turned Unfortunately, this has led to a shortage of building supplies and a into condominium living, or how about as shelters or perma- huge increase in costs. nent living quarters for homeless or low income people? For years I have watched the explosion of office buildings in our One property I sold recently needed major help but that was o.k. area, and the increase in retail square footage. The future may because my clients, buying below market, can take this new prop- well depend on making good use of these buildings for the erty and retrofit it to their desires vs. buying an already renovated common community rather than for business. This will require home that might not have met their style choices, color schemes grand foresight by government officials plus revenue. Could or finishes. In this case, the school district was the primary crite- some be turned into space for the homeless, for the less finan- rion, which is still true for many of our clients. Fortunately, excel- cially able elderly, or for those in the regular workforce but at a lent school systems exist outside of Fairfax County. lower income level? Interestingly, the next topic is—what is going to happen to all this Currently there is (and has been for some time) a shortage of commercial office space which is sitting vacant, or unused as all housing in all price ranges and types of housing.