Local group provides rent relief to Annandale and Bailey’s Crossroads residents

Dozens of Annandale and Bailey’s Crossroads families were able to stay in their homes and feed their families over the past few months, thanks to the emergency assistance program run by the Annandale Christian Community for Action (ACCA). 

ACCA received $3.1 million from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. About half of that money has been distributed to local landlords for emergency rent payments for people facing economic hardships due to COVID-19, says ACCA volunteer Nancy Hall. 

Most of those funds helped residents of apartment complexes, including the Vistas of Annandale, Fairmont Gardens, the Parliaments, and Wedgewood in Annandale and Hillwood Manor, Olde Salem Village, Vista Gardens, Oakview Gardens, Grandview, Golden Gate, and Skyline Towers in Bailey’s Crossroads. 

ACCA also used funds from the Rotary Club of Bailey’s Crossroads, the United Way, FEMA, Fairfax County and individual donors to support its emergency assistance fund and food pantry. 

So far, ACCA has helped about 50 families keep a roof over their heads, including many single mothers. “Overwhelmingly, they are first-time callers,” Hall says. 

Many of the breadwinners in those households lost their jobs as house cleaners or Uber drivers, due to the COVID epidemic, she says. Others are essential workers in jobs where there is a high risk of contracting the virus, thus contributing to their communities’ designation as COVID hotspots.

In some cases, their rents are paid through October. The CARES funds must be spent by the end of the year. 

Rather than limiting the assistance to monthly rent, ACCA covers the total cost of housing, as local apartment landlords generally tack on a long list of fees for things like parking, air conditioning, pest control, and late rent payments. For many renters, paychecks come a day or two after the rent is due, making it hard to avoid a late fee, Hall notes. 

“ACCA pays whatever its going to take to keep you in your unit,” she says. 

“If they lose their homes, they’re out on the street,” she says. She knows of two families who had already started to sell their personal possessions. 

In the past, ACCA assisted families behind on their rent by helping them relocate to other less-expensive states where they could stay with relatives. That’s no longer feasible during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Families aided by ACCA are vetted and referred by the Fairfax County Office of Coordinated Services Planning.

That office determines whether they are eligible for any county benefits, then refers them to nonprofit organizations in their community, says ACCA spokesperson Nancy Moy.                           

If they need money for housing, ACCA provides rental assistance directly to the leasing office. If they need medical assistance, ACCA donates funds to a healthcare provider who can treat them.

Many local people who need food assistance don’t have transportation. Instead of having people come to ACCA’s food pantry, volunteers deliver food directly to households in need. 

“Fairfax is not a good place to live if you’re not fairly well off,” Hall says. “These are ambitious people. They have done well here and want to work if given a chance.” But with the economy in shambles, people who had been striving for better lives for their families are falling back into poverty. 

While the state government had placed a temporary moratorium on evictions, people who’ve gotten behind in their rent still owe back payments. 

Many more people are expected to lose their homes since the moratorium expired on June 22. According to the Legal Aid Justice Center, there are 493 eviction hearings scheduled in Fairfax County between now and Sept. 14. 

On July 24, Gov. Ralph Northam asked the state Supreme Court to extend the ban on evictions to Sept. 7 to give people time to seek assistance under a new state rent and mortgage relief program.