Homeless people are camping out in central Annandale park
Toll House Park, a tiny landmark at the intersection of Little River Turnpike and Annandale Road, was created as a focal point for the revitalization of Annandale.
Now, however, it’s become a gathering place for unsheltered individuals struggling to survive during a weeks-long heat wave. Some people are sleeping on the benches, while others brought blankets, chairs, and tents.
There were at least a dozen people at Toll House Park on Aug. 1.
One of them, Lindiwe “Lindi” Pilane, 42, said she has been camping there for the past two weeks. The self-described “free spirit” had previously been staying at the nearby Parliaments apartments.
Originally from Botswana, Lindi formerly had a job as a certified nurse aide at a health facility in Annandale, but can no longer work due to her struggles with mental health and drug addiction. Her two sons, ages 10 and 14, live in Stafford.
Related story: Residents concerned about sidewalk squatters
Another Toll House Park squatter, Rene Chicas, 40, said he has been homeless for a couple of months. A former resident of the Mason at Van Dorn Apartments and Fairmont Gardens, Rene lost his job, toolbox, and his car, as well as a home.
Rene said his former boss at the auto body shop where he worked confiscated his tool box and wants him to pay $700 to get it back. He doesn’t have that much money.
Originally from El Salvador, Rene is an Annandale High School graduate.
It’s been difficult living outdoors with the heat index soaring into the 100s. Rene said he’d been kicked out of a laundromat and other businesses where he tried to take advantage of the air conditioning.
He said a police officer came by on July 31, warned the squatters against public drinking and told them he would help find space at a shelter.
When asked about the encampment at Toll House Park, Mason Supervisor Andres Jimenez issued the following statement:
“Our goal is to connect individuals with the resources and services they need. This encampment in Annandale was reported to my office this week. I asked outreach staff to contact these individuals and make them aware of what services are offered by the county and our partners, which is following the county’s protocol for encampments. Fairfax County has activated its Heat Plan for Friday, Aug. 2. When Fairfax County’s heat plan is activated, cooling centers around the county will be available during normal operating hours for individuals needing relief from the heat. In addition, the three emergency shelters for single adults will activate day and night overflow shelter capacity.”
Thomas Barnett, the deputy director of the Fairfax County Office to End and Prevent Homelessness, said he wasn’t aware of the situation at Toll House Park until he was informed about it by Annandale Today.
He promised to send outreach staff to the park to engage with the people congregating there and see what they need and direct them to the closest cooling centers. When the heat plan is activated, county staff distribute water, sunscreen, and hats to people staying outdoors.
The cooling centers closest to Toll House Park are the county’s Heritage office building at 7611 Little River Turnpike and George Mason Regional Library.
Related story: Jimenez says county will begin the process to remove sidewalk squatters
“During periods of extreme heat, nighttime can be just as dangerous as daytime,” Barnett noted, as “the body never has a chance to cool down.” As a result, homeless shelters expand their capacity to assist people day and night during heat emergencies.
No one can be forced to go to a shelter; “it’s their decision,” he said.
“Shelters don’t screen for addiction,” Barnett said. “It’s not something you can tell by looking at somebody.” Drugs are not allowed inside; if someone appears heavily intoxicated, shelter staff might call emergency services.
“Addressing the problem in the long term can get quite complex,” Barnett said. If encampments on public land create a health or safety issue, the solution could involve the Park Authority, school board, various county and state agencies, and law enforcement.
He said the county is working on creating a temporary shelter in Reston for people who have been sleeping in the woods.
“Camping is not permitted on Park Authority property – only by reservation at our designated campgrounds at Burke Lake and Lake Fairfax parks,” said Park Authority spokesperson Benjamin Boxer.
Boxer said the Park Authority “works with human services professionals – including the Office to Prevent and End Homelessness and community service providers – to extend compassionate service and assistance to individuals experiencing homelessness and are found to be residing on park land.”
Later, Boxer advised us that: “Toll House Park is not a Park Authority property and is outside of our jurisdiction. This is a Fairfax County property and we have contacted Fairfax County Facilities Management and shared the information you have provided us. They are coordinating with Supervisor Jimenez’s office on appropriate next steps to respond to the needs at that location.”
38 responses to “Homeless people are camping out in central Annandale park”
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Our parks are filled with drug addicts and mental health patients.
Fairmont gardens is filled with the same type. Murders- assaults- larceny – have become common but of government officials tell us crime is down – the economy is great – the borders are secured. Do you believe them or your own eyes?
NO THIS WHY I AM VOTINFG FOR MY HERO TRUMP
Jesus, grampa. Simmer down. Sounds like you could use some mental health assistance.
Becky- people like you telling citizens to chill make me angry. Our county is failing the taxpayers- from pickleball courts to lack of law enforcement of housing laws -homeless encampment in every park – gangs of ms13 and drug overdoses in our school systems.
Go watch tiktok and let the adults straighten out the mess .
Great comment! Well said!
Trump had 4 years to fix things and he fixed NOTHING. Why do you people always need to turn everything into politics? These are humans we’re talking about here. Grow up. You don’t own the world and you don’t get to define morality for the rest of us. The younger generation gets more say in the path forward than any of us old folks do. Take a step back and stop being NIMBY’s.
Thank you for covering this issue. The number of people camping out there seemed to be growing. It’s good to know it’s now on the County’s radar and hopefully these folks can be connected with the appropriate services, particularly mental health and addiction support. I doubt this is where they want to be.
Started long before them. Get it straight.
Yes – don’t agree with your politics, but, good job Annandale Today. These articles are a public service.
I pay $6500/yr for a 1500 SF house in Mason and don’t understand why we have this problem other than: lack of coordinated local enforcement and the feds inability to guard our borders. The homeless population needs to be seriously addressed and currently the feds, state and county governments are unable to mediate this epidemic.
Move them all to the shade at the White house, Biden’s Rehoboth Beach house, the FFX Government Center and Youngkin’s front yard. These political leaders need to share in this problem by having it in their faces just like we do.
You mean you pay that in taxes. Being paper rich and house poor is tough.
FLORDUH has open arms. Rush to the sunshine stare. Desaintless will open the Palm Beach country club for you. This problem was started by the darling of the Republican Party, Ronald Regan, who emptied the mental institutions and took away the ability to involuntarily commit individuals (after due process). To facilities that could intercede and help.
This is the second time you’ve misspelled his name. Ronald Reagan. Not Regan.
Well to be honest Eddie; OddBallonBoat has enough trouble spelling his own name.
He’s a one trick pony.
I have a place in Florida, in palm beach county. I don’t have to choose one or the other, unlike you. I go there whenever I please. LOVE the tax structure.
Same drivel you pedaled on the last article dealing with this subject. The move to close down the atrocious state and federally run ‘hospitals’ was started during the Kennedy administration. It finally concluded during the Reagan administration.
Don’t try to correct Oddball on his history, it might break his brain.
With all sincerity, it’s all he has, it’s not much, but if he realizes it was all Geraldo Rivera and his historic reporting on the atrocities that took place in the Willowbrook mental institution on Staten Island, NY; and the “caring” Democrats who decided life on the street was best for the mentally ill, Odd Ball might just go “tilt” and join the unhoused.
Yes $6500/year in property taxes to live in what continues to become a garbage dump. County services have become criminally abysmal and a bad return on investment for homeowners.
Well Vax, each election is an IQ test, and the voters of Fairfax County are doing their very best.
THEY DONT WANT HELP- THEY LOVE BEING HOMELESS.
TIME TO SEND THEM TO JAIL OR SPEICAL YEAR ROUND SUMMER CAMPS
Of his works, he is especially famous
Close the border so the illegal immigrants are not clogging up our public services. Unleash Americas full energy potential so that the economy can actually grow and create jobs. Make panhandling illegal again. Convert some of the hundreds of vacant office buildings into low cost or no rent apartments. One where the people who stay there will be required to do 2 days community service and two days of job skills training a week to cover their rent. Place a limit of 2 years to stay. Setup job placement, mental health, and drug treatment centers at these sites so that everything needed to get these people functioning is in one location.
All these are common sense solutions that would cost the taxpayer far less than the current situation.
I vote you for president!
You know what, this makes too much sense, that’s why it’ll never happen. I was against drilling oil, I was always thinking we should be looking for green energy alternatives. But, that won’t stop the world from using it. We can at least make money from it and it’ll make Russia weaker/poorer, and use it to fund energy alternatives while propping up our economy, and supporting Europe’s energy needs, our allies. With proper funding then maybe we can solve the energy crisis.
I would rather we rely on solar panels and windmills; kill all the cows to end their methane farts which are destroying the planet, and rely on wholesome cricket protein.
I read in Bloomberg just this week that cricket protein is considered vegan; and it is now the “new white meat.”
You say these are common sense, but who pays for the services, and who pays to take over these vacant office buildings? Does eminent domain just come in and the State just takes the buildings and puts them to use as they see fit if the building’s owner does not want to convert it to vagrancy housing?
They have been offered shelter and are refusing it.
The county shelter includes consoling and financial assistance to obtain a permanent home. It also has drug and other consoling. It has employment assistance to find a job, at least something in manual labor, retail, fast food, and other unskilled and semi-skilled service. It offers all the county programs for medical. They have safe housing for families and kids. They have free food. There are computers, and some recreation (including sometimes all-expense paid free trips to the beach and the ballpark, even hotels). Additionally, from donations each week, they get sundries and clothing. The rules are that you can’t be intoxicated or doing drugs on the shelter premises.
They literally went over to them and begged them to please go to the shelter. Transportation provided, of course. Please get in the van or when can we come pick you up.
They completely refuse.
They will not go.
What does this tell you?
Thank you Annandale Today for bringing this to broader community information. I drive past this park everyday and what used to be a quiet area is filled with people hanging out, drinking, litter everywhere, people sleeping on the benches and floor. I am saddened to see this place deteriorate. I hope the new Mason district supervisor is able to address this issue sooner than later.
they seem chill asl
Given a choice I am sure they would prefer a home/ shelter/ a clean bed. I am assuming some have fallen on hard time and some have mental or drug issues. Most Americans are living pay check to pay check!!
Actually, Katie, they were given this choice. They reject and refuse it, because they won’t let them do heroin or fentynal or whatever in the shelter. And they refuse to go to the drug shelter to get clean. They much prefer it where they are. Your mistake is in imagining they are sane.
Did you really talk to them Katie, or are you just assuming?
Do you know the saying about making assumptions, or should we Google it together?
I was at the stop light there the other day and thought, “that’s the most people I have seen in that little area”. Now I know why. Within sight of this area, we have a County Human Services Building, wonder how many have gone there for assistance (being a little sarcastic, and yes, I used to work in this field and pretty knowledgeable about our county’s broad range of services.)
The homelessness in Annandale is getting out of hand!! It’s not just Toll House Park. Every other corner there’s somebody panhandling or taking shelter on random parts of the street. It’s gotten worse the last two years.
All the comments here are so inhumane. These are human beings. Ya’ll just want them to go someplace that isn’t in your back yard and that’s called a NIMBY.
Most human beings prefer not to live around Drug addicted metal patients camping on sidewalks by their children’s schoolbus stops.
If the county decides to put the encampment next to your house I’m sure you would question it. ….
Just a quick observation: the 2 people referenced in the article are not immigrants from the border; they are long-time residents of Annandale, both having had jobs here and one a graduate of Annandale HS.
Also: Once you are addicted to fentanyl, you are in the throes of a horrible illness. The drug becomes your oxygen. If s.o. offered you a place to stay but said you are not allowed to use oxygen while you are here… what would you say? It’s a very very difficult situation.
Annandale 30 years ago was a relatively safe and decent place to live.
Not anymore…Police helicopter overhead a few times a month. Crime ridden apartments, Safeway, Giant with cops constantly there for the rampant theft that goes on. Homeless,trash, rats, vermin…
Yep, great place…