RICHMOND, Va. — It’s a major grant to fight homelessness. More than $10 million in state funding is going towards helping unhoused Virginians.
Governor Glenn Youngkin announced this week, 55 organizations across the Commonwealth are splitting $12 million from the Virginia Housing Trust Fund Homeless Reduction Grant. Several organizations here in Hampton Roads are getting a piece of that funding.
Lynne Finding is the executive director of LINK, a transitional and supportive housing and winter shelter program in Newport News.
“We’ve been housing up to 118 people a night at the winter shelters," Finding said. "It’s been significantly different in that more people are first-time homeless. Many, many more elderly and medically fragile than we’ve seen in prior years.”
LINK is set to receive more than $245,000. Finding said the money will go a long way in helping the growing number of people arrived at LINK looking for a safe place to stay.
“Excited actually because last year was our first year in the Housing Trust Fund and we didn’t know whether we would actually going to qualify for it again, this year," she said.
Receiving more than one million dollars in funding is Virginia Supportive Housing. They’ve got affordable apartment units across the seven cities, housing people who otherwise might not have anywhere else to go.
"Year over year more than 95 percent of the people that we serve remain stably housed and don’t return to homelessness," the group’s Director of Mission Advancement Chris Edwards said. “Housing is a big issue across the entire Commonwealth. There are problems with affordability.”
Edwards said his team offers case management and supportive services like connecting people with a steady income or medical support.
“People become homeless for any number of reasons. Often a confluence of several things at once. It might be losing a spouse, losing a job, issues with health or addiction," he said.
If you want to help. LINK accepts donations and volunteers. There is more information on their website. Virginia Supportive Housing also accepts donations and volunteers. More information can be found here.
If you need help, call the Housing Crisis Hotline at (757) 587-4202.