VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Virginia Beach Housing and Neighborhood Preservation recently announced the organizations that have been selected to provide many of the services at the city’s new Housing Resource Center.
Day services and the singles shelter will be provided for by the Judeo-Christian Outreach Center. JCOC provides feeding programs and shelter for single homeless adults. Its housing programs serve men, women, homeless veterans and individuals with disabilities. The nonprofit also operates the city‘s Winter Shelter program through a partnership with local faith organizations.
Short-term family housing will be provided by Samaritan House, which is the largest shelter for victims of domestic violence in Virginia. In addition to the organization’s services for victims of domestic violence and homelessness, it also shelters human trafficking victims as part of a regional network of law enforcement and human services agencies.
Permanent housing will be provided by Virginia Supportive Housing, a Richmond-based nonprofit that provides permanent housing and supportive services. It has developed and currently operates the six permanent supportive housing communities for formerly homeless individuals in South Hampton Roads: Cloverleaf and Crescent Square Apartments in Virginia Beach, Gosnold Apartments and Church Street Station Studios in Norfolk, South Bay Apartments in Portsmouth and Heron’s Landing Apartments in Chesapeake.
A health center will be staffed by Southeastern Virginia Health Services, which provides comprehensive primary care services to under-served communities and vulnerable populations. The organization currently operates primary care sites, behavioral health-primary care practices and dental clinics across Hampton Roads.
Operations and maintenance will be overseen by ABM, a leading provider of facility solutions. It currently serves as a janitorial partner for several City of Virginia Beach offices and facilities and will do so for the Housing Resource Center. The company will also oversee subcontractors at the center, including Dunbar Security, Culinary Services Group, and Dodson Pest Control.
Housing and Neighborhood Preservation will coordinate the services provided by all partners at the facility.
“Each selected provider is an established organization with a history of providing quality services in Virginia Beach,” said Andrew Friedman, director of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation. “The useof outside organizations to provide critical services is consistent with the goals of the Housing Resource Center to enhance and provide a focus for our community’s ongoing efforts to make homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring.”
At the center, Virginia Beach Human Services will also provide critical human services to participants and the public. Through the BEACH Faith In Action office at the Housing Resource Center, the faith community will be able to continue its key role of coordinating and tracking services provided by faith organizations to the homeless.
In addition to managing the operations of the Housing Resource Center, Housing and Neighborhood Preservation will continue its outreach and coordinated assessment programs, and implement a new homelessness prevention and diversion program as part of the city‘s overall community service system.
