Vulnerable homeless families in Fairfax County’s “Route 1 Corridor” now have a newly upgraded residence owned and managed by New Hope Housing – the oldest and largest provider of shelter beds in Northern Virginia. The renovation was recently completed through a collaboration with HomeAid Northern Virginia, which builds and renovates homeless shelters and housing facilities via the donated expertise, labor and resources of local homebuilders – enabling nonprofit organizations serving vulnerable communities to invest more of their budgets in supportive programs and services rather than building expenses.
The New Hope Housing home provides non-time-limited, permanent supportive housing, which means that a family—with at least one parent with a disability—will pay no more than 30% of their income in rent while receiving case management support, for as long as they need it or until their children turn 18. The $129,000 construction project was led by HomeAid’s “Builder Captain” Miller & Smith and included gutting and renovating the entire 1980s-era townhome from the inside out. Ninety-one percent of the total construction costs were covered by Miller & Smith and the 32 trade partners that donated labor and resources to the project.
“Our work is about giving families a long-term place to call home,” said Pam Michell, executive director of New Hope Housing. “Many of the families coming to us have lived disrupted lives because of a parent’s disability, and we provide the help and advocacy these parents need so that children can remain in local schools and receive any education support they need. Stability is critical to successful development, and so many of these children would otherwise bounce from place to place. Through this renovation of one of our supportive housing properties, HomeAid Northern Virginia, Miller & Smith and its partners have provided a local family a residence that truly feels like a home, a new beginning and a fresh start.”
“By setting the bar really high, everyone on our team walked away saying, ‘Wow, this is nice, and this was a really great experience.’ When the residents move in to what is essentially a new home, we hope it will give them a new outlook on life, too. That’s what really makes taking on these projects so much fun and so worthwhile,” said Scott Alford, vice president of production for Miller & Smith.
