Fairfax County’s homeless population has shown a slow but steady increase over the past three years, according to a report released on Monday.
The annual count of the homeless in the county, Fairfax City and Falls Church tallied 1,813 people as of Jan. 25, an increase from 1,766 last year. In 2005, that number was 1,675.
The Community Council on Homelessness, in a report accompanying the county survey, cites greater financial strains in finding affordable housing, with fair market rents established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development showing a 5 percent increase in September. Waiting lists for family shelters have also increased, according to the council.
The apparent upward trend in homelessness represents a setback for the county’s plan to end the problem in 10 years, a program put in place in 2005. The study defined homeless as “those who are living on the street, in shelters or in transitional housing.”
“We can do a better job of assisting our neighbors in need, and save money,” council Chairwoman Linda Wimpey told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Monday. “This is what moving from merely managing homelessness to ending it can mean for Fairfax.”
Of the 1,813 homeless, 1083 were in families and 674 were children, according to the report. Fairfax County has sought to offset the loss of affordable housing by dedicating one penny of its real estate tax per every $100 of assessed value toward programs to buy or develop units and hold them at affordable rents.
