Final Homeless Tent Removed From Outside Supervisor Alcorn's Office

RESTON, VA — The final tent in front of the North County Governmental Center was taken down around 2 p.m., on Thursday, following the placement of its occupant into permanent supportive housing with access to wraparound services.

Reston Strong, a local nonprofit advocacy group, originally set up tents outside Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn's office late in the evening on April 4. The group was calling for more temporary housing for Fairfax County's homeless population. The demonstration was timed to coincide with the closing of Fairfax County's hypothermia shelters for the season.

"The tents outside Supervisor Alcorn’s office resulted in nearly 14 individuals moving into housing or into shelter beds, many chronically unhoused, several women — elderly and LGBTQ+ individuals, teenagers and more," said Sarah Selvaraj-Dsouza, one of Reston Strong's founders, in an email.

Selvaraj-Dsouza described "Ms. A," the woman who had been living in the lone tent outside Alcorn's office, as a special education teacher who found herself chronically unhoused after losing her job. Reston Strong volunteers first encountered her at the end of March across the street from the Embry Rucker Community Shelter.

"She had been abruptly moved out of the COVID Hotel and into the nightly hypothermia program at the shelter," Selvaraj-Dsouza said. "Every day she would carry all her belongings — seven very heavy bags to and from the shelter to the sidewalk. Spending hours in the cold with nowhere to go."

Once Reston Strong realized that Ms. A and others like her had been displaced by the closing of the county's hypothermia shelter on March 31, volunteers set up the tents outside the government center for them to live in.

"Tents were not what Reston Strong wanted," the group said, in a statement in April. "They were a temporary solution in the absence of a governmental one. Reston Strong began petitioning elected officials a few months ago to make a plan and take action before the closures took place to ensure continuity of services. One of our specific requests to the Board of Supervisors was to modify the Fairfax County zoning ordinance to allow for temporary transitional housing as a by-right use for empty commercial buildings/spaces in Reston."

On April 12, Alcorn introduced a board matter calling on the Department of Housing and Community Development to review the effectiveness of local homeless assistance programs and ensure that they are providing safe environments for county residents facing a housing crisis.

"A recent visit with Ms. A in her Alexandria home found her cooking for herself listening to Christian music and smiling — A full 180 from her previously stressed and paranoid existence," Selvaraj-Dsouza said. "The tents outside our supervisor's office helped ensure our unhoused neighbors did not go unseen by increasing awareness in the community and bringing a sense of urgency. We hope we can work together in the future to achieve functional zero — an ongoing state where homelessness is continuously rare and brief."

Reston Strong is still working to find permanent housing for people living in more than 20 tents around the Reston community, including some on the hill across from Supervisor Alcorn's office.

"Housing is the elegant solution to end homelessness," Selvaraj-Dsouza said. "A shortage of affordable housing is a contributor to the increase of homelessness, so it must be addressed. However, it is a long-term solution and several discussions for housing at the county are for 60 percent AMI (Average Median Income) levels and above, this doesn’t serve the unhoused populations who struggle at 30 percent AMI or below."

On Monday, Tom Barnett, deputy director of the Fairfax County Office to Prevent and End Homelessness, released the following statement:

"The work to eradicate homelessness truly is a communitywide effort. We are grateful for the partnership of the countless nonprofit organizations, faith communities, and other civic and volunteer organizations for their exceptional work each day to serve individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

"All of our Fairfax County shelters are open, and we encourage anyone who is experiencing homelessness to please contact or visit us at these locations where they may obtain food, showers, laundry, counseling, and other assistance to help them meet their basic needs. We also have experienced and knowledgeable individuals at these locations working to create housing plans to meet the individual preferences and needs of our guests. Additionally, we are actively preparing for our upcoming Hypothermia Prevention Program season, beginning December 1, which provides added capacity to ensure that no one has to sleep outside this winter.

"This work will continue and we will continue to welcome the assistance of our vast network of partners to eradicate homelessness in all areas of Fairfax County."