Update On Seniors From The Hill: Restonstrong

Press release from Restonstrong:

Reston, VA - Following the closure of the Hill on September 10, a generous community member stepped up to house our three seniors in their temporarily vacant home. As their time at the home has come to a close before the holidays, we would like to issue a thanks to the wonderful couple who came to the rescue without any desire for public recognition. 2 of our 3 seniors have spent the last few months peacefully coexisting with a roof over their head.

One of the gentlemen, an artist, is close to moving to an apartment. He was matched to the unit on Nov 8th 2024. The unit is currently vacant, but due to paperwork delays between organizations he has to wait till Nov 26th to move in. We are working on an appeal to the board of supervisors to look into process efficiencies so we can make sure the limited housing inventory we currently have is fully utilized.

The other gentleman, a Restonian of over 40 years with a heart condition, is couch surfing and temporarily staying in a hotel for a few days provided by generous donors. His disability paperwork is still in process with the county and he does not have firm housing plans.

The elderly African American woman who has called Reston home since 1998 and been unhoused since 2009 visited the house and her beautifully arranged suite (see image) but did not move in. The mental health challenges, an unfortunate result of a delayed housing process.

Restonstrong also recruited a 3rd senior to move in as a house mom to help our neighbors readjust to life indoors - unbeknownst to us she too was unhoused and spending nights in a chair at the shelter during overflow. She has a full time job working 48 hours per week. After initiating a housing intake - She was matched with a room for rent in sterling, but the commute via bus to work was too long to be doable. A generous Restonstrong community member has stepped up and offered a well below market rate room in her home, which is within her budget and in Reston. She moved directly from the house on Nov 14th to her new home.

Although we are thankful for the response from our community, we wish the process had been more streamlined and treated with urgency so volunteers are not left scrambling to fill the gaps at the last minute.

This is also a wonderful example of the amazing spirit of Reston - our community steps up to help the most vulnerable in our midst. If you have a spare room, basement apartment or any housing to rent please consider offering it at affordable rents to our neighbors. Restonstrong will be sharing a paper on this housing experiment to help inspire non traditional solutions to this extremely complicated issue.

In Solidarity,
Restonstrong