Va. Beach demand from homeless greater than city's supply

By Judy Le

VIRGINIA BEACH 

On a chilly fall night, the porticoes of an Oceanfront church are filled with a few dozen bodies, evenly spaced to balance personal space and warmth, covered in blue tarps in anticipation of rain.

"There are 30 or more almost every night," said Ted David, senior minister at Virginia Beach United Methodist Church. "I've never seen that before."

"A mile up, you have people in multimillion-dollar homes. Here you have people sleeping," he said.

Sister Mary Ann Grzeskowiak at Star of the Sea Catholic Church said the number of people coming to get that church's food offerings started increasing drastically last October and hasn't stopped.

"Now you see the parking lot is full of cars," she said. "More people who own cars need help. There are more working families without homes."

Year-round, homeless people in the city have some options for shelter, including the Judeo-Christian Outreach Center and the Samaritan House. The winter shelter program, which takes about 60 adults a night, will open Wednesday and run for 24 weeks. But demand outpaces

supply and is increasing.

"This year we certainly are worried because of

the economy and what's seen as an increase in demand for services," said Andrew Friedman, the city's director of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation.

Friedman's department has been asked what it may take to increase the winter shelter program's capacity. He said any increase would be a three-part challenge, coordinating staffing, transportation and church capacity. Supervision, participants' safety and fire safety are all concerns, he said.

They hope to make a decision on any possible increases - perhaps for just some weeks - next month, Friedman said.

Mayor Will Sessoms said homelessness is of great concern to him. "Can we allow the winter shelter to close next year? I don't know that we can," he said.

The City Council made addressing homelessness a top priority at its last retreat, he said. The city is working with nonprofit groups and faith-based organizations to help address the problem.

The most recent count of homeless people, in January, found 433 in the city. Of those, 39 did not have shelter. That count, taken annually, consistently underestimates the number of actual homeless people, Friedman said.

During the winter shelter program, participants are provided transportation to a church, a mat and a blanket, dinner and morning breakfast.

Anywhere from six to 18 people are turned away on a given night, said Deborah Maloney, director of Volunteers of America Chesapeake at the Lighthouse Center, which runs the program through a contract with the city.

The center's staff gives consideration to people who may have stronger medical needs or have just come from a traumatic situation, Maloney said.

She said they monitor the weather very carefully, paying attention to temperature and wind chill, taking all who seek shelter when conditions are life-threatening.

David said he will encourage the people sleeping at his church to take advantage of the winter shelter program. But he hopes for a larger solution.

"We're just a Band-Aid here."

Judy Le, (757) 222-5113, judy.le@pilotonline.com