Arlington County Homeless Services Center
Updated Emergency Shelter Operations January 5, 2022
Effective immediately – Due to the high rates of COVID-19 transmission resulting from the new Omicron strain, the Arlington County Department of Human Services, in partnership with the Continuum of Care (CoC), is temporarily relocating single adult emergency shelters to the Days Inn Pentagon (located at 3030 Columbia Pike, Arlington VA 22204). Shelters impacted include: The Homeless Services Center and Hypothermia Shelter operated by PathForward and the Residential Program Center operated by New Hope Housing. Day program services (laundry facilities and other support services) will be temporarily closed and may re-open on a limited basis. PathForward Outreach teams will continue to work with people sleeping outside, providing medical and social services and connections to needed resources and supplies.
If you or someone you know are experiencing or at-risk of experiencing homelessness, you can still call 703-228-1010.
Arlington’s new Homeless Services Center opened for business on Oct. 2, 2015.
Center-based programs and services will include:
- Employment and life skills training
- Benefit enrollment
- Mental health and substance abuse counseling and treatment
- Shelter (dormitory use)
- Shower, laundry and mail facilities
The center features:
- 50 year-round shelter beds
- 35 winter hypothermia prevention beds
- 5 medical respite beds
With its three distinct service areas — shelter, day program and medical respite — the Homeless Services Center is a critical component of the community’s efforts to end homelessness. A best-practice model that uses integrated, comprehensive services will facilitate moving homeless persons into permanent housing as quickly as possible.
Arlington County has retained the services of a national consultant, Housing Innovations, to design a unified shelter program at the Center and Arlington’s other shelter for individuals, the Residential Program Center.
Funding
The budget for the Homeless Services Center is $9.679 million and the project was completed within budget. The breakdown of costs is as follows:
- $6.610 million construction authorization
- $0.692 million for furnishings, security and IT equipment
- $1.585 million in soft costs (design, construction administration, County staff time allocated to the project, permits and inspections)
- $0.792 million for installation of an emergency generator (added scope of work)
Funds for building the HSC were made available from close-out funds in previous fiscal years, 2013 IDA bond funding, and contingency funding.
Additional Information
A series of community meetings was held between December 2012 and January 2013 to solicit input from County residents.
- Community dialogue: The first meeting was held Dec. 5, 2012 at Key Elementary School. County staff listened to community questions and concerns and considered this input during the design and operational planning phases of the project.
- Workshop: At the second meeting, an interactive workshop on Dec. 17, 2012 at Key Elementary, participants reviewed draft building and operational plans, which incorporated input from the first meeting. Participants also provided further suggestions.
- Design review: The third meeting on Jan. 14, 2013 at Key Elementary featured a presentation of the County’s final plans.