Hypothermia Shelters Open For Winter Season In Fairfax County

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — As the weather gets cold, individuals experiencing homelessness may need a warm place to stay in Fairfax County. The county's hypothermia shelters are open for the 2020-2021 winter season through April 1.

According to a county news release, nearly 1,200 residents depend on the hypothermia program to avoid exposure to the cold winter weather. An average of 215 guests per night was recorded last year.

Guests receive a place to sleep, food and other supportive services for basic needs, including clothing, employment, housing and more. Shelters are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week with monitoring by program staff.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the county identified locations that provide proper space to provide social distancing space. Each location is expecting to host an average of 40 and 70 guests per night. There will be health protocols in place such as social distancing, face coverings, frequent cleaning and sanitizing of high touch surfaces, and separate hotel rooms to quarantine guests who are symptomatic or test positive for the coronavirus.

"For 15 years, the life-saving mission of the Hypothermia Prevention Program has been fulfilled through the extraordinary assistance of numerous community nonprofits and houses of worship," said Tom Barnett, deputy director for the Department of Housing and Community Development’s Office to Prevent and End Homelessness. "This year, we needed to get creative as many of our previous partners have insufficient space to safely accommodate guests in a COVID-19 environment. We are grateful for the support of our county leadership, staff and our community partners for their engagement in helping formulate a solution for using vacant and under-utilized public facilities to ensure that everyone can find warm shelter this winter."

In the past, shelters have been hosted at places of worship, but many of those are closed or operating with reduced capacity. For example, Vienna Presbyterian Church was a hypothermia shelter location but will be providing meals instead this year. The church is also a CARES Act partner and has been holding food distributions every third Saturday of the month since Aug. 22.

Below are the hypothermia shelter locations. If you see someone without shelter who may be at risk for hypothermia, call the non-emergency police phone number, 703-691-2131. Police officers will respond and conduct a wellness check and refer individuals to available shelters.

• Eleanor Kennedy Shelter (9155 Richmond Highway, Fort Belvoir)
• Bailey’s Shelter and Supportive Housing (5914 Seminary Road, Falls Church)
• Embry Rucker Community Shelter (11975 Bowman Towne Drive, Reston)
• Gerry Hyland (South County) Government Center (8350 Richmond Highway, Alexandria)
• North County Human Services Building (1850 Cameron Glen Drive, Reston)
• County-owned former Container Store building (8508 Leesburg Pike, Vienna)

For more information, visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/homeless/hypothermia-prevention-program.