Mobile shower unit will serve the homeless

Pathway Homes is launching a mobile shower unit to serve homeless people in Fairfax County.

The regional nonprofit provides housing and other services to marginalized individuals, including those experiencing mental health issues.

Pathway Homes received nearly $300,000 in grants from Virginia Housing, the Cafritz Foundation, the Potomac Health Foundation, and Amazon to retrofit a trailer as a “mobile outreach unit.”

The trailer will offer case management support and other services, as well as showers. It will also distribute hygiene and wellness kits.

Only two of the 41 shelters in Northern Virginia offer shower drop-in services.

The mobile outreach unit will be stationed at Pathway Homes’ Community Hub next to the organization’s new headquarters in Fairfax City. The hub will have a food pantry, a supply storage area, and a training center.

The mobile unit will help connect unhoused individuals to the intake portals in Fairfax County, Prince William County, and surrounding jurisdictions.

“By bringing Pathway’s services directly to those in need, we can build trust and restore dignity to those experiencing homelessness who otherwise may not seek services on their own,” said Pathway Homes CEO Sylisa Lambert-Woodard.

The mobile unit will “become another important and collaborative tool to help prevent and end homelessness in our community,” she said. It is expected to start rolling in the fourth quarter of 2025.