HOMELESSNESS

Homelessness continues to be a growing issue across the Commonwealth.

Roanoke City leaders gathered Sunday to get input from the public on homelessness.

President Joe Biden's administration is making a new push to reduce homelessness.

Homelessness in the Roanoke Valley has been on the rise over the past couple of months, specifically people who are considered unsheltered.

A growing concern in the city as more people experiencing homelessness in Roanoke turn to panhandling, specifically at the corner of Williamson Road and Orange Avenue.

The organization was awarded $1,991,554 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The goal is to assist 245 people over the next five years.

Homelessness in the Roanoke Valley is a problem that is in plain sight when looking around our community.

The Lynchburg Area Veterans Council announced Tuesday that they won a $10,000 grant from the Homes for Heroes Foundation.

In a letter to Virginia’s Department of Housing and Community Development dated Feb. 24th, Lyn-CAG’s president and CEO Treney Tweedy cited operation and facility concerns about the building constructed in 1850.

The Lynchburg Area Veterans Council is one of three national finalists to win a $10,000 grant from the Homes for Heroes Foundation – and need your vote to help them win.

There could soon be an influx of homeless people looking for emergency shelter because of a new proposed ordinance in Roanoke that would ban sleeping on sidewalks.

The CDC eviction moratorium has been providing financial aid to households impacted by COVID-19. The federal program was extended multiple times during the pandemic, but is set to expire.

ROANOKE, Va. – Homelessness is on the rise in Virginia. Newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found a 3% increase from 2019 to 2020 for those experiencing homelessness on a single night. Nationally, it’s up 2.2%; however, in the Roanoke Valley trends are plunging. “Really focus on who we’re targeting with those resources, I think has really had an impact,” said Roanoke City’s Human Services Administrator Matt Crookshank. Crookshank said that nationally homelessness may spike, but in the Roanoke Valley, it might not be as bad as you’d expect.

Ending involuntary homelessness by 2035 is the goal for one advocacy group. On Friday, researchers focused on the factors that go into homelessness, particularly for children. It’s associated with increased secondary educational attainment. It’s associated with prevention of early pregnancy and parenthood,” said Dr. Amy Dworsky with the University of Chicago. According to the group, Times for Homes, a fifth of children live in poverty in America.

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Miriam’s House is distributing ‘blessing bags’ to those who are less fortunate. Sarah Quarantotto, executive director of Miriam’s House, said the blessing bags will benefit those without shelter and the nonprofit organization. (Miriam's House)“This count really informs the federal government on funding decisions [and] what the need is in each community,” said Quarantotto. So, the anticipation of all of us in homeless response is that homelessness will rise over the next few months,” Quarantotto said. Miriam’s House is counting on resources to meet the need.

But counties say that with some federal relief funding expiring soon or its status uncertain, it's time to transition residents from expensive hotel rooms to cheaper, more stable housing. California is one of several states, including Washington, that turned to hotels to shelter homeless people as the virus took hold. The department has said it plans to move homeless people out of all 29 hotels by June. Russ Heimerich, spokesman with the state's Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, says counties have resources to continue housing homeless people in hotels. They say hotel residents have flourished with regular checkups and meals.