More Fairfax County families are homeless

The number of homeless individuals in Fairfax County is increasing, the county government announced May 11.

The Point-in-Time Count conducted on Jan. 25 by the Office to Prevent and End Homelessness found 1,310 people experiencing homelessness across the county. That’s a 10 percent increase from the 2022 e count.

The biggest increase, 33 percent, was among people in families with children. The 2023 Point-in-Time Count primarily attributes that increase to “the multiple negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on families in terms of health, employment, and inflationary costs, especially for housing.”

The number of single adults experiencing homelessness decreased by 11 percent between the 2022 and 2023 counts.

About 100 people from public and nonprofit agencies conducted the count on a single night. They identified individuals in emergency shelters and transitional housing, as well as people who are unsheltered.

“The annual Point-in-Time Count helps us understand the scale of homelessness in our community and motivates our community partners to take urgent action,” says Tom Barnett, deputy director of the Office to Prevent and End Homelessness.

“With this vital information, we can unite our efforts and resources to create meaningful change, ultimately uplifting the lives of our neighbors in need,” Barnett says.

Other key findings from the Point-in-Time Count:

• 30 percent of the homeless adults said they are experiencing chronic homelessness.

• 30 percent of homeless households said they were currently fleeing domestic violence or had a history of domestic violence.

• On the night of the count, 48 percent of people experiencing homeless identified as Black or African American. Just 10.8 percent of the general population in Fairfax County is Black or African American.

• During the 2023 count, 34 people identified as veterans, compared to 32 in 2022.

• There were 73 homeless transition-age youths (age 18-24) in 2023, down from 91 in 2022.  

• Nineteen individuals age 70 and above experienced homelessness on the night of the 2023 Point-in-Time Count, including a 97-year-old in an emergency shelter.

Meanwhile, Fairfax County Public Schools reports a total of 1,936 students have been identified as homeless over the school year so far as of April 20, as defined by the U.S. Department of Education’s broader definition of homelessness.