– Mannequin and Build A Village Presentation and Launch –

You are cordially invited to attend the We Can End Homelessness 2015 Campaigns Presentation to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ (BOS) on Tuesday, April 28. The Fairfax-Falls Church Community Partnership to Prevent and End Homelessness will make a presentation to the BOS and officially launch the We Can End Homelessness 2015 Campaigns: Homeless Mannequin Campaign, Mayors Challenge and the Build A Village Campaign.

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The presentation will be presented in the Board Auditorium, located at the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, Virginia, at 9:30 a.m. Check-in is at the Forum Lobby by 9:15 AM or before. The presentation will be first on the Agenda prior
to the proclamations. Mike O’Reilly, Chairman of the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Partnership to Prevent and End Homelessness will make the presentation on behalf of all partners, sponsors, stakeholders and attendees. During the presentation we will launch the mannequin campaign and acknowledge the We Can End Homelessness Campaign champions, sponsors, volunteers, partners and Partnership Governing Board members.

Please share this invitation with businesses, faith, civic and non-profit organizations, Fairfax County Government and Fairfax County Public School employees, and individuals.

Following the presentation, a photo will be taken in the Forum area outside the Board Auditorium.

Please contact Glynda Mayo Hall to confirm your attendance by Friday, April 24 and to request a reasonable accommodation. Glynda can be reached at glynda.hall@fairfaxcounty.gov or 703-324-5237, TTY: 711.

We look forward to you joining us to launch the We Can End Homelessness Campaigns.

Sincerely,

Dean Klein

Director

Wednesday 15 April 2015

Friday 17 April 2015

Mannequin’s represent our Fairfax County Homeless Population:

• Veterans
• Working families
• Students
• Domestic violence victims
• Chronically homeless
• Immigrants
• Mental Health
• Intellectually Disabled
• Substance Abuse
• LGBT
• Human Trafficking)

“Making a difference in the lives of our Veterans, Homeless Veterans, Service Members and their Families”

Through the Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness, mayors and other state and local leaders across the country will marshal Federal, local, and nonprofit efforts to end Veteran homelessness in their communities. Ending Veteran homelessness means reaching the point where there are no Veterans sleeping on our streets and every Veteran has access to permanent housing. Should Veterans become homeless or be at-risk of becoming homeless, communities will have the capacity to quickly connect them to the help they need to achieve housing stability. When those things are accomplished, our nation will achieve its goal.

To aid the mayors in pursuit of the goal of ending homelessness among Veterans, the Federal government has provided resources and enforced programs to strengthen our country’s homeless assistance programs. These resources and reforms, when implemented in local communities, can include:

• Using a Housing First approach, which removes barriers to help Veterans obtain permanent housing as quickly as possible, without unnecessary prerequisites
• Prioritizing the most vulnerable Veterans, especially those experiencing chronic homelessness, for permanent supportive housing opportunities, including those created through the HUD-VASH program
• Coordinating outreach efforts to identify and engage every Veteran experiencing homelessness and focusing outreach efforts on achieving housing outcomes
• Targeting rapid re-housing interventions, including those made possible through the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Supportive Services for Veteran Families program, toward Veterans and their families who need shorter-term rental subsidies and services in order to be reintegrated back into our communities
• Leveraging housing and services that can help Veterans who are ineligible for some of the VA’s programs get into stable housing
• Increasing early detection and access to preventive services so at‐risk Veterans and their families remain stably housed
• Closely monitoring progress toward the goal, including the success of programs in achieving permanent housing outcomes

To publicly commit to ending Veteran homelessness in your community and learn more about joining the Mayors Challenge, send an email to mayorschallenge@hud.gov and visit http://bit.ly/mayorschallenge.

Q.  Why should a mayor join the Mayors Challenge?

A.  As laid out in Opening Doors, our nation’s first strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness, we have a goal as a country to end homelessness among       Veterans in 2015 – less than two years from now. And, thanks in large part to the progress we have made over the last four years, we are seeing unprecedented levels of federal commitment and investment in programs for Veterans experiencing homelessness.

B.  However, we know that we will only end homelessness nationally by ending it locally – something that requires the continued leadership and support from mayors and other local elected officials.

C.  By publicly committing to ending Veteran homelessness in 2015, mayors will lend a powerful voice to their communities’ collaboration and efforts, enabling them to build momentum to reach the finish line.

D.  Moreover, we have seen the incredibly powerful impact that national recognition has made on the efforts in communities like Phoenix and Salt Lake City,

Can you see me? This is the message we are sending to the public about our homeless individuals, families and youth on our streets. We are gearing up to launch the Homeless Mannequin Project to help spread awareness.