VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The City of Virginia Beach has relaunched its hotline for emergency housing and support services for homeless people.
The call center will continue to be the contact to streamline the homeless referral and assessment process.
Homeless families and individuals will be connected to a case manager with the Department of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation. They will be assessed for financial assistance and other alternatives to help prevent homelessness.
Citizens who are homeless or at risk of losing their home should call the Regional Housing Crisis Hotline at (757) 227-5932, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Norfolk nonprofit ForKids is the new provider operating the city’s call center under a contract with the Department of Housing and Nieghborhood Preservation.
Day support services for the homeless will be provided at the Lighthouse Center, located at 825 18th Street. The Lighthouse Center offers showers, laundry and mail delivery service. An assessment team will also be available at the center to refer and connection people to housing programs.
“We will now have our Homeless Outreach Team and new homeless case managers on site to engage individuals and assess them for shelter, transitional housing or permanent supportive housing programs,” said Pam Shine, homeless programs coordinator with the Department of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation. “Our goal is to ensure that everyone who walks through the door to access services has a housing plan.”
Effective July 1, the city’s Department of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation will operate day support services at the Lighthouse Center. Day services were previously operated by Volunteers of America, a faith-based nonprofit that provides health and human services.
The day support service center is open Monday through Friday, 8 to 5 p.m. Day support services are available until 3 p.m. For more information, please call the center (757) 437-4911.
