Ask Fairfax: Hypothermia, Homelessness

As the temperatures drop this winter, Fairfax County's homeless population has new concerns to add to the old. Freezing and hypothermia add to the ever-present issue of hunger among the homeless.

To address these concerns, Fairfax County hosted another of its Ask Fairfax! online sessions on Nov. 15, where residents could send in questions to be answered by an expert. For the hypothermia and homelessness session, Dean Klein, director of the county's Office to Prevent and End Homelessness, was on hand to give advice on how people could help those who don't have a home this winter season.

Read the full transcript here.

Here are some highlights from the discussion:

• Klein: "If you see an unsheltered person at night, and you think they could be at risk of hypothermia, call the county's non-emergency phone line at 703-691-2131, TTY 711. County emergency personnel will determine which shelter option is best in the situation." Hypothermia shelters, according to Klein:

1. North County—Reston/Herndon area (Dec. 1, 2010-March 31, 2011): Reston Interfaith: uses office space owned by the county government and coordinates volunteers from faith communities and businesses who provide dinner and breakfast.
2. Central County (Nov. 21, 2010-March 31, 2011): Each week, two faith communities or one large one, offer their facilities as a host shelter site and provide meals, often assisted by other area faith communities. FACETS coordinates this effort. [Added:  in Oakton acts as a hypothermia shelter for two weeks in the winter.]
3. East County (Dec. 1, 2010-March 31, 2011): Volunteers of America is overseeing the hypothermia prevention effort and is coordinating the support from nearby faith communities who offer overnight shelter. Shelter guests eat dinner at the Bailey's shelter that is prepared, delivered and served by area faith communities. Then VOA transports men to a sheltering site at a nearby faith community, and the women to another.
4. South County (Dec. 1, 2010-March 31, 2011): Rising Hope United Methodist Mission Church provides the sheltering site all winter. Ventures in Community, a consortium of faith communities in the South County area, provides meals and overnight volunteers, supported by New Hope Housing, the nonprofit organization that operates two county homeless shelters nearby. 

• Direct a person seeking help to contact the Fairfax County Coordinated Services Planning at 703-222-0880, TTY 711. 
• Klein: "During the past year, the number of people who were homeless in the Fairfax-Falls Church Community has decreased nearly 11 percent. On Jan. 27, 2010, there were 1,544 people who were literally homeless our community. 652 of them were single individuals and 892 were people in families. However, our indicators show that more individuals are seeking assistance or could be only one pay check away from homelessness."
• Klein: " The Fairfax-Falls Church Community Partnership to Prevent and End Homelessness was established to make sure that no later than Dec. 31, 2018, every person who is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless can access appropriate permanent hosing and the services needed to keep them in their homes. The county government is partnering with the community to ensure that services are coordinated, new housing opportunities are created, and that we measure our success and adapt our plan accordingly."
• Klein: "Fairfax County Government spends approximately $500,000 each year on the hypothermia program. This number fluctuates some from year to year based upon the severity of the weather and the number of individuals served. In addition to funding from the county, the participating nonprofit organizations, faith-based communities and individual volunteers provide additional resources to this program."
• Klein: "Last year we served more than 900 people in the Hypothermia Program. This was in addition to those being served in the homeless shelters during the winter months. We anticipate that, at a minimum, we will serve this number of individuals and families this winter season."

Sheriff Stan Barry will talk about the Secure Communities program in a forum 2 p.m. Nov. 30. The Sheriff's Office has implemented an Immigration and Customs Enforcement program that aims to identify illegal immigrants who have committed serious crimes.

To submit questions for those sessions now, click here.