SERVE Expansion to Benefit Families in Need

The Manassas City Council has voted to approve the expansion of  a local homeless shelter that serves all of western Prince William County.

is a program operated by Northern Virgina Family Services and is located in the City of Manassas on Dean Drive. 

The SERVE building site is currently 25,088 sq.ft. and includes administrative offices, a safe and stable housing facility and the largest food distribution building in Prince William County.

The facility is also equipped to acommodate a HeadStart class.

The expansion will allow for an additional 4,000 sq. ft. to  built onto the safe and stable housing building on site.  The Washington Post blogs the additional space will allow for an additional 32 beds to be used by families in need.

Graham Marsden with NVFS said the expansion is still in the earlier stages of planning and they will be moving forward with building partnerships within the community to finalize the plans.

"Things are falling into place," Marsden said.

According to NVFS, Manassas City and Prince William County together contribute approximately 22% of the  shelter's operating 2011 budget.

The shelter  also gets $170,704 of its $855,854 annual operating funds from fund­raisers and corporate and individual support, according to a letter NVFS sent to city council.

An additional $117,000 comes from in-kind repair and maintenance work from the shelter's volunteers, and also receives $15,000 from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Manassas contributes $97,500 of the total operating funds in 2011, and $50,000 of that is grant matching funds.

Karen Horowitz, on site director at SERVE, said those in need can participate in the safe and stable housing program at SERVE for about 45 days, and have access to a variety of services to include Workforce Development, Emergency and Health Assistance to help them get back on their feet. 

According to Horowitz, the food distribution program serves 800 plus individuals a month with a one-week supply of food.  And the only qualification is that the person must have lived in western Prince William County.