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

The Chris Atwood Foundation helps people struggling with substance abuse

For those burdened by substance abuse addiction, the Chris Atwood Foundation offers a helping hand. The organization helps people get into detox and offers peer recovery coaching and support, harm reduction services, housing assistance, support for the families of addicts, Narcan kits, and help with health insurance, food, employment, and legal documents. The Chris Atwood … Continued

Healthcare, education, safety initiatives in the works for Culmore

A new project in Culmore is connecting residents to healthcare, education, afterschool programs, and much more in their own neighborhood. The Culmore and Bailey’s Crossroads Place-Based Initiative (PBI) is creating a hub for community-serving programs at Culmore United Methodist Church. The PBI, run by George Mason University’s College of Public Health, is a coalition of … Continued

Fairmont Gardens residents worry about crime, drugs, and children’s safety

Residents of Fairmont Gardens are concerned about crime, drug abuse, keeping children and teens safe, and fear of retaliation if they call the police. Those are the major themes that emerged at a Town Hall convened on April 18 by the Opportunity Neighborhoods–Annandale program. Nearly 70 people showed up to hear from county, school, and … Continued

Culinary training available for offenders

The Office of the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney and its partner agencies celebrated the anniversary of the Taking Root diversion program and announced a new component to teach graduates culinary skills. Taking Root provides extensive, individualized services to people charged with non-violent offenses. Offenders accepted into the program receive case management, mental health assessments, substance … Continued

Nonprofit for foster kids moves to Annandale

UMFS, a statewide nonprofit that provides services to at-risk children, relocated its Northern Virginia office last week to a space inside the Annandale United Methodist Church on Columbia Pike. The organization helps find foster parents for children who’ve been removed from their birth parents, trains foster parents to help children who’ve experienced trauma, and helps … Continued

GMU project engages with residents of Culmore and Bailey’s Crossroads

George Mason University is spearheading a place-based initiative to bring together residents of Culmore and Bailey’s Crossroads and the organizations that serve them. The project will develop an action plan “to solve systemic-level issues.” Project Manager Katie Wilson of GMU described the Place-Based Initiative (PBI) for Bailey’s Crossroads and Culmore, known unofficially as the Culmore … Continued

Mason District has some of the neediest areas in Fairfax County

The 2022 Needs Assessment recently published by Fairfax County confirms that some of the neediest areas are in Bailey’s Crossroads and Annandale. The current Needs Assessment report documents economic conditions and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The data helps county officials and others respond quickly to emerging community needs. It also suggests strategies for … Continued

Design revealed for Patrick Henry Place

Plans are moving forward to replace the Patrick Henry Emergency Shelter in Seven Corners with a larger facility. The new building will provide permanent supportive housing for families facing homelessness. The project had been delayed while Fairfax County worked out land acquisition and other issues with the Hollybrooke II Condominium Association, which owns the property. … Continued

Lincolnia church opens its doors to Afghani refugees

Rev. Sarah Scherschligt of Peace Lutheran Church officially opens a refugee resettlement center at the church. Peace Lutheran Church is extending its welcome to Afghani refugees through the opening of a new refugee resettlement center in its building operated by the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS). Many of the refugees evacuated from Afghanistan after … Continued

Haven of Northern Virginia reopens for in-person grief counseling

Haven is based in a former farmhouse that is more than 100 years old. Haven of Northern Virginia, a nonprofit based in Annandale that helps people deal with grief, has reopened for in-person counseling.   Haven offers emotional support to the bereaved and their families and friends through one-on-one counseling and support groups led by well-trained … Continued

Residents of Annandale’s ‘opportunity neighborhoods’ work on action plans

ON-Annandale community organizer Nayely Lopez surveys residents of Fairmont Gardens. [FACETS] The biggest concerns among residents of Annandale’s Opportunity Neighborhoods are security and safety; children’s issues; and apartment issues. That’s the chief finding of a survey conducted by volunteers with FACETS, the nonprofit organization coordinating the ON-Annandale initiative.