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How can I help our homeless community through donations, time or volunteerism?
Please see links to community agencies to volunteer and donate.
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Is homelessness considered a form of child abuse?
While homelessness is traumatic for children who frequently move from one place to the next and their rate of illness is twice as high as other children who have stable housing, homelessness is not a form of child abuse. One in 30 American children experience homelessness annually. 51% are under the age of five. Homelessness is a hardship, not a crime. (doorwaysva.org)
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What are the leading causes of homelessness?
The rise of homelessness is related to multiple factors with the most obvious being the lack of affordable and permanent supportive housing inventory. However, pathways to homelessness are complicated and sometimes involve more than one origin such as a lack of financial means, substance abuse, mental illness, loss of family, domestic violence, prisoner re-entry (refers to individuals released from jail back into society) or chronic health conditions that negatively impact a person’s self-care ability.
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What is the City of Victorville doing to address homelessness?
The City of Victorville is coordinating a two-part proactive response that includes developing an enhanced shelter operation called the “Wellness & Recuperative Care Center” and streamlining permitting processes to allow housing developers the ability to increase affordable and subsidized housing inventory in our City for low and very low income residents.
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What is the Homelessness Solutions Task Force, and what is its purpose?
As part of an ongoing commitment to help its most vulnerable population, the City of Victorville has established a Homelessness Solutions Task Force to help identify strategic solutions, leverage funding and resources and measure effectiveness of new and existing policies and programs designed to prevent homelessness. The taskforce is made up of 12 citizens each representing different stakeholder groups:
• Business District
• Veterans
• Emergency Shelter
• Nutrition and Meal Provision
• Faith-Based Organizations
• School District
• Local Hospitals & Clinics
• Real Estate
• Elderly Community
• Homeless Community
• Drug & Alcohol
• Domestic Violence
The Homelessness Solutions Task Force members play key roles in developing a strategic action plan and making recommendations for the appropriate courses of action specific to our community.
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What is the role of the Homelessness Solutions Coordinator?
The City has hired a Homelessness Solutions Coordinator to serve as the City’s single point of contact to provide guidance on homeless-related matters and to assist in the development and oversight of the City’s Homelessness Solutions Strategic Action Plan. The Homelessness Solutions Coordinator also helps to optimize collaboration among community stakeholders, centralize homeless-related services, and identify funding sources that support homeless programs and outreach services.
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What is the Wellness & Recuperative Care Cente?
The Wellness & Recuperative Care Center will involve a multi-agency collaboration that will include non-profit and government agencies. The multi-center complex will be comprised of two distinct components and operate independently from each other.
• Wellness Center-A 100-bed, low barrier, enhanced emergency shelter that provides onsite supportive services and housing assistance for homeless men, women and families.
• Recuperative Care Center-A 50-bed facility that provides medical respite. This center will be utilized by hospitals needing to stabilize homeless persons recovering from an illness or injury.
