WHO: Non-profit organizations serving Northern Virginia’s homeless in need of assistance in building or rehabilitating shelters are invited to attend a free forum sponsored by HomeAid Northern Virginia to learn how to apply for assistance through HomeAid’s Shelter, Shelter Care and Heroes Projects.
WHAT: The 2009 HomeAid Northern Virginia Forum: Building a Prosperous Northern Virginia, which will feature speakers from the homebuilding industry, lending institutions and others.
WHEN: Thursday, March 26 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.
WHERE: The offices of the McGuire Woods, 1750 Tyson’s Blvd., Suite 1800 in McLean, VA.
CONTACT: Organizations interested in participating should contact HomeAid Northern Virginia Executive Director Christy Eaton at (571) 283-6320 or ceaton@nvbia.com.
WHY: Homelessness in Northern Virginia is growing.
- The Good Shepherd Alliance reports that in 2008 more than 900 men, women and children were turned away from their shelters for lack of space.
- The Northern Virginia Coalition (NOVACO) has seen the number of requests for entrance into their program increase from 2 to 3 calls a month to 7 to 8 calls a month.
- Action Through Community Service (ACTS) has seen a 30 percent increase in emergency assistance. Their new Learning Center – a 2008 HomeAid Northern Virginia Shelter Project – is at capacity for its Turning Points program that includes nurturing family classes and women and children’s programs.
HomeAid Northern Virginia is the non-profit charitable arm of the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association (NVBIA) that builds and renovates temporary shelters for Northern Virginia’s homeless. Since its founding in 2001, the members of HomeAid Northern Virginia have participated in more than 35 projects and have donated millions of dollars in labor, materials, management and other resources to non-profit organizations that help Northern Virginia’s homeless. Through donations of time, expertise, money and materials, HomeAid’s builders and their partners have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars that organizations would otherwise have spent on construction costs. This savings has been put toward sheltering the homeless, training programs, thrift stores, food banks, training centers and other services for the homeless.
