NORFOLK, Va. — Take a look in our shelters, churches and along our streets. There you'll find people facing homelessness.
On a given night in Virginia more than 6,500 people are experiencing homelessness, according to 2022 data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Last month News 3 spoke with a woman named Jazmin in Newport News. She's been without a home for three years even though her husband has a job.
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"Every time we apply for a place, it's always a no," explained Jazmin. "We can pay for the application, but apartments will say it's our credit. But, there's a lot of people out here who don't have good credit."
She's certainly not alone.
HELP, Inc, a resource in Hampton, reports it's busier than ever.
"The need is increasing," said Matthew Stearn, executive director of HELP, Inc. in Hampton. "It's very likely that here on the peninsula between the two agencies that provide winter shelter programs we'll see over 1,000 users this year."
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It's the same story at ForKids in Chesapeake. Staff there said they see more than 500 emergency housing calls a day.
"A lot of folks here in Hampton Roads are really one paycheck, one tire going flat, one medical bill away from homelessness," explained Sharhonda Woods, chief people officer at ForKids.
It's a challenge to address immediate need and prevent the issue down the line.
Monday, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced $12 million in grants for 55 projects to tackle the issue of homelessness in the commonwealth. He expects it will reduce homelessness for more than 2,000 individuals and families in Virginia.
The funding will be paired with community activities and, after a local assessment, go to local groups. One of those groups is ForKids.
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Woods said they plan to use the grant money for a parenting youth program that helps in instances where heads of households are teenagers, and permanent supportive housing for families with disabilities in the home.
With rents on the rise, she added, the grant funding is especially welcome.
"What these grants will help us do is really be able to meet the need between the difference of what rents cost and what our families and individuals living in homelessness are able to pay," said Woods. "It absolutely allows us to address some core and acute issues, it will not solve all of homelessness, but it will definitely make an impact."
Those at Help Inc. aren't on the list but say these resources are critical to get folks into stable housing in our area.
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But how far does $12 million stretch?
"If we take half of the folks we're looking at who may be eligible for rapid rehousing programs, something like that, we're talking 500 individuals," explained Stearn. "With just the rapid rehousing support and the staff required to case manage those that's a $5 or $6 million tab right there in itself. And that's only half of the folks we're serving [on the peninsula]."
Still the latest grants are encouraging to shelter staff across Hampton Roads. They hope the resources will help our most vulnerable neighbors find a place to call home.
"People don't tend to see homelessness in the way it really exists," said Woods. "People tend to think of a single person or they're on the street corner. It can be invisible to most people. It can [show up as] a child who is chronically late, truant, or absent, or hungry when they get to school. It can be a mom who is sleeping in a car the night before but going into a gym to take a shower before going in to work. It's important for us to think of homelessness as a community issue, not as an individual issue."
