“Did you know that being homeless could take 20 to 30 years off of your life?” asked Kristin Ward, Development Director of the Judeo-Christian Outreach Center. 

 

“On a single night in 2019, homeless service providers had more than 48,000 beds set aside for survivors of domestic violence, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness,” Ward said, “more than half of homeless veterans have a mental or physical disability. 40% of homeless school-aged children have a mental health problem.” 

 

Every year, 2.5 million children experience homelessness, which is almost the entire population of Chicago. Many people in the United States are one paycheck or less away from being homeless or having to choose between food or paying their rent and mortgage,” Ward expanded after a brief period of silence.  

 

There is no one face of homelessness in the United States. Here in Virginia Beach, you can walk past somebody on the street and never know that at night, instead of retiring in the comforts of their own home, they fell asleep under the Bonnie Road Flyover, surrounded by the sounds of cars whizzing past.

 

In the United States, over 580,446 people are currently battling homelessness. According to The 2020 Annual Homeless Report to Congress, homelessness in the United States has increased by 2% between 2019 and 2020, marking the fourth consecutive year of increased total homelessness in the United States. The increase in homelessness can be traced to an increased number of unsheltered homeless individuals, or those not living in emergency shelters or transitional housing.  

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Homelessness is not a single-person issue; it affects people from all walks of life. The Annual Homeless Report found that nearly three-quarters of adults aged 25 and older experienced homelessness, 18% of children under 18, and eight percent of young adults between 18 and 24. They found that six of every ten (61%) men and boys, 39% of women and girls, and less than one percent of transgender or gender-nonconforming experience homelessness. As of January 2020, 39% of blacks or African Americans, 48% of whites, and 23% of those identified as Hispanic or Latino.

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On October 17, 2017, the City Council voted to adopt Community for One as the city's strategic plan to address homelessness for 2017-2020. This plan combines the communitive work of faith, city, and nonprofit organizations into one coalition to help reduce and eliminate homelessness in Virginia Beach.

 

Enter the Judeo-Christian Outreach Center. JCOC is a nonprofit organization servicing Virginia Beach since 1986. JCOC empowers homeless families, individuals, and veterans to recover from crises and return to being self-supporting, productive, and independent community members through feeding and housing programs.

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"We want to break the cycle of homelessness and hunger in Virginia Beach," Ward stated, "and we have been doing that for 35 years."

 

JCOC oversees the Emergency Shelter at the Housing Resource Center in Virginia Beach for single homeless adults in collaboration with the City of Virginia Beach.

 

"We believe that the best way to help someone that is homeless is to make sure that they have a warm, safe place to sleep, and then we wrap-around services that will help them with other things that they might be facing,” Ward explained, “such as drugs or substance abuse problems, and drug rehabilitation, employment services, disability benefits, veteran benefits, and those kinds of things."

Since the pandemic has started, Virginia Beach has reported an increased number of residents at risk of becoming homeless. 

 

In 2019, the Regional Housing Crisis Hotline fielded 395 calls from households at risk of homelessness. In 2020, that number more than quadrupled with a reported 1,827 calls. 

 

With businesses closing, many individuals lost their jobs. A record number 12.4% of Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Newport News residents were unemployed in April 2020, a 9.4% increase from March 2020.  

 

During this time, many individuals who became unemployed also experienced a housing crisis due to their inability to afford rent. Federal funding has assisted programs such as the Virginia Rent Relief Program, which helps Virginia residents receive funds to pay delinquent rental payments.

 

In addition to federal funding, Governor Northam announced a $2.5 million emergency fund to shelter Virginia’s homeless population. These funds helped ease the burden homeless shelters began to feel and allowed for more social distancing inside shelters by granting individuals who are more at risk to catch COVID-19 shelter inside hotel and motel rooms. 

 

“As we battle this unprecedented public health crisis, we must make sure no one is left behind,” said Governor Northam. “I have issued a statewide Stay at Home order, but we know there are many Virginians with no home to stay in. With this funding, we will ensure people experiencing homelessness have access to immediate housing options and help prevent the spread of COVID-19.”

 

The $2.5 million emergency funds also go towards purchasing food for individuals impacted by COVID-19. 

 

The funds are significant because over 42 million Americans face food insecurity in the United States; 863,390 in Virginia. 

 

Pre-COVID-19 across the Virginia Peninsula, 60,000 people were identified as food insecure by the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank. Post-COVID-19, 89,000 people reached out to Virginia Peninsula Foodbank for assistance.

 

Contrary to popular beliefs, homelessness and food insecurity do not go hand in hand. Although the homeless population is poor and is less likely to afford food or live-in sheltered accommodations with access to kitchens, the popularization of food banks and soup kitchens has reduced food insecurity among specific populations.

 

This does not mean that all homeless persons are not food insecure, however. Levels of food insecurity vary according to availability of shelter, education, demographics, hunger-targeted aid, and social ties.

 

Starting at 5 p.m. every day at JCOC's campus, those struggling with homelessness or food insecurity can come and grab a meal. 

 

Due to COVID-19, they have suspended their in-person dinners, but they have continued to help individuals by preparing food offsite and offering two to-grab meals instead. 

 

“We were always on the frontlines of this pandemic,” Ward emphasized. “We have been following the CDC rules and guidelines, HUD [Housing and Urban Development], and the city of Virginia Beach and other authorities and experts to ensure that not only are our clients safe but are staff and volunteers as well.”

 

Elizabeth Rivera lives in a neighborhood behind JCOC's building and comes to the campus to get a meal for herself and her grandchildren every day. 

 

Every time she arrives, a staff member comes out to help secure the food in her wheelchair. One of the staff is making her a wagon to make carrying food she receives from JCOC easier.

 

“They gave me blankets for the kids,” Rivera remarked, highlighting the time JCOC gave out extra quilts and hats. 

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Whenever there is an overflow of items, Denise Rutledge, Kitchen Manager at JCOC, likes to offer them to those who come to pick up food. 

 

On Thursday, April 8, Rutledge received an anonymous donation of Kroger grocery cakes. During the daily to-go dinner, Rutledge encouraged guests who opened the blue doors to grab a cake to share with their families and friends, leaving plastic bags beside the cakes so anyone could take one. 

 

In January, when the kitchen staff noticed many of their food items expired in April of 2021, they split the food and gave them to churches.

 

“They had more volume of people coming through their pantry than we did,” Rutledge stated, referring to the large number of guests that frequented churches during the winter shelter program. In the winter shelter program, churches provide emergency shelters to more than 60 homeless individuals.

 

"If I have 500 pounds of food that I am not able to use, I can give it to another partner agency, and they don't have to count that food because it was counted on my list. That whole network of churches that falls under the Southeastern Foodbank is cumulated and counted, and those numbers are given to Feeding America," Rutledge explained. 

 

JCOC has experienced an overwhelming amount of community support as a response to the pandemic. 

 

During the holiday season, in their holiday boxes, JCOC donated more holiday baskets compared to previous years. 

 

"The donations just kept coming in. People just kept donating ham and turkeys and all sorts of things. It was incredible! We didn't have to turn anyone away for Thanksgiving and Christmas!" Ward exclaimed. 

 

“When spring came, people began to bring more donations. The other day I ran to do a pick-up, and I got a whole bunch of cereal donated. I’ve had like 700 jars of peanut butter at one time,” Rutledge laughed.

 

On the housing frontier, people have continued to donate toiletries and create welcome home baskets. When clients [homeless individuals] get permanent housing, they receive a Welcome Home Basket with everything they need for their first homes, such as pots and pans, brooms, bedding, and laundry detergents. 

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Have you ever had to choose between paying rent or going grocery shopping? Being able to hang out with friends or work overtime in order to pay bills? These are issues that many people have faced and are often questions people have to ask themselves every day. Many people have to choose between shelter and food. Some are even a paycheck away from facing hunger.

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Homelessness and food insecurity are not mutually exclusive, but they do share one common point, they can affect anyone at any time. As the pandemic has proven, things that once seemed solid and unshakeable can fall down in an instant. 

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Instead of becoming rubble, the community has rallied together to help ensure that no individual goes without food or housing. From permanent housing to temporary hotels, organizations such as JCOC have helped to reduce homelessness in Virginia Beach one person at a time.

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If you see a homeless person, but you don’t want to give them money, that’s OK. Keep a bag in your car or bag with water and non-perishable food items such as dried fruits and nuts or cracker sandwiches inside to give to them. Ward also suggests adding a disposable face mask and a mini portable hand sanitizer inside as well.

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Homelessness is not a one-person issue. Homelessness does not have a face. Today, tomorrow, or a couple years from now, you or another financially secure individual can become homeless.

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“Remember, we all have our struggles,” Ward pointed out, “We are all human and we all need help.”