to the more than 100 housing and homeless service providers from 50 non-profit and governmental organizations that filled the conference room at at our Housing Forum on April 19th!

Keynote Speaker Norm Suchar, director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Special Needs Assistance, kicked off the morning with an insightful, high-level overview of trends and policies affecting homelessness and an examination of what’s working and what’s not. He also shared with the group his hope for streamlining future services and programming, with a goal of reducing red tape and paperwork.

A panel discussion on the “State of our Union,” moderated by Joe Meyer, executive director of Shelter House, featured Dean Klein, director, Fairfax County Office to End and Prevent Homelessness; Jessica Lurz, director, City Of Alexandria’s Department of Community and Human Services; Tony Turnage, division chief, Homeless Services, Prince William County Government; Nicole Harmon, bureau chief, Housing Assistance, Arlington County Department of Human Services; and Jennifer Hope, coordinator, Loudoun County Continuum of Care, Department of Family Services. The panelists—through anecdotes and examples of their daily work—illustrated the diversity of our region and addressed concerns that are both unique to the different counties and common challenges for all.

Following the panel discussion, the Forum turned to a series of short training sessions, with Meredith McKeen, NVFS’s Youth Initiatives and Multicultural Center, addressing trauma-informed care; Kendall S. Cloeter, Virginia Department of Housing & Community Development, discussing how to implement low-barrier services; and Dr. Eleanor Vincent, Pathway Homes, Inc., and Libbie Rozofsky, Fannie Mae, making a joint presentation on removing barriers to permanent stable housing.