Covering Annandale, Bailey's Crossroads, Lincolnia, and Seven Corners in Fairfax County, Virginia

Yang Gang hosts coat drive

The Northern Virginia Yang Gang, a group of volunteers who support businessman Andrew Yang’s presidential campaign, are holding a coat drive to benefit Shelter House, a nonprofit that assists homeless.families and victims of domestic violence. The coat drive started Dec. 18 and will end Dec. 23. New or mildly used coats, gloves, hats, scarfs, and … Continued

Guests at new Bailey’s shelter share their stories of homelessness

Robert, a guest at the new Bailey’s shelter, at the reception desk.  Relationships gone bad, alcoholism, overwhelming grief, and bad luck – those are some of the reasons people ended up at the new homeless shelter on Seminary Road in Bailey’s Crossroads. The brand-new Bailey’s Crossroads Shelter and Supportive Housing, as the facility is officially … Continued

Clothing drive seeks socks and pajamas

Help keep homeless adults and needy children warm this winter: Annandale realtor Vivianne Couts is again asking the public to donate socks for the homeless and has added a Jammies for Juniors drive to collect pajamas for kids. New, packaged socks for adults or kids and PJs for kids can be brought to PR Performance … Continued

New Bailey’s shelter serves most vulnerable members of the community

The nearly completed Bailey’s Shelter and Supportive Housing facility on Seminary Road in Bailey’s Crossroads includes 18 apartments for people transitioning out of homelessness, as well as emergency lodging for 52 men and women. The community will be invited to an open house at the shelter on Nov. 23. Each supportive housing unit has a … Continued

Panhandlers share their stories

Kenneth Dean Miller in Annandale. The recent Board of Supervisors action to consider ways to restrict panhandling has shined a lot on the people who work the medians in local roadways to solicit money. We spoke with two panhandlers recently to learn what drove them to rely on the generosity of strangers. Here are their stories. … Continued

Church members fix up homes for residents who can no longer do the work themselves

A Rebuilding Together volunteer paints the garage door at the Hua’s house in Mason District. Dozens of volunteers fixed up two houses in Mason District April 27 as part of Annandale Christian Community for Action’s (ACCA) Rebuilding Together program. At one of the homes, volunteers painted the exterior and interior, did some yardwork, and installed grab … Continued

Temporary homeless shelter takes over vacant Macy’s building in Landmark Mall

The children’s play area in the Carpenter’s Shelter in Landmark Mall. The old Macy’s store in Landmark Mall – once filled with racks of dresses, cashier stations, and mannequins – has been transformed into a temporary homeless shelter. One vestige of the old Macy’s remains: the dingy carpet has not been replaced. The Howard Hughes Co., which is planning … Continued

Homeless population rose from 2017 to 2018

The future site of the Bailey’s Crossroads shelter and transitional housing facility on Seminary Road. Although the point-in-time count of homeless people was up slightly on Jan. 24, 2018, in the Fairfax County/Falls Church area compared to the previous year, the homeless population has been steadily decreasing over the past 10 years. There were 987 … Continued

Donate socks for the homeless

Sock and food collection boxes at PR Performance Fitness. When it comes to donating for the homeless, the most needed but least donated item is socks. You can close that gap by contributing to the sock drive organized by Annandale real estate agents Vivianne Couts and Jenny Arias of Coldwell Banker. Brand-new socks can be … Continued

Neighbors say their concerns about the Bailey’s Crossroads homeless shelter not addressed

A conceptual drawing of the new Bailey’s Crossroads Community Shelter.  People who live or own businesses near the Bailey’s Crossroads Community Shelter on Moncure Road are concerned that the problems surrounding that shelter won’t be resolved when it’s replaced by a new facility a few blocks away on Seminary Road. Construction of a new, larger … Continued

Old Macy’s building at Landmark Mall could house the homeless

Macy’s at Landmark Mall in 2013. The vacant Macy’s building at Landmark Mall could be used as a temporary homeless shelter for two years until construction begins on a mixed-use redevelopment project. The Carpenter’s Shelter, in the northern section of Old Town, Alexandra, has been looking for a temporary place for its clients while it … Continued