Cold weather sparks high demand at Fairfax County shelter

A hot meal on a cold day is just one of many ways FACETS provides for people seeking refuge
at Fairfax County’s Bailey’s Crossroads Community Shelter.

This shelter typically serves 18 people in what’s known as permanent supportive housing and about 52 overnight guests. But when the snow and sleet came and temperatures plunged, dozens more came through the doors.

“For this physical location for folks that stay overnight for winter season, we have an additional 50, but due to the weather and temperatures, there are no turn away, so we saw upwards of almost 70 additional people,” said Michelle Hook, the director of Bailey’s Crossroads Community Shelter.

That meant squeezing a lot more cots into the sleeping areas and providing a lot more food. Right as the storm hit, World Central Kitchen jumped in to help.

“Two-hundred meals the first day and I think overall about 500 within two days,” Hook said.

It also meant guests who normally go to jobs or other programs during the day had to stay put.

Hook and other daytime staff stayed several nights at the shelter to help out — her bedding is still stacked outside her office door.

Churches in the area also partner with FACETS to provide overnight shelter during the winter months, but they too had to make a big adjustment with some of their volunteers also sleeping at the church for several nights.

And while it was a challenge, they see the surge as good news.

“The good thing is that means folks who were still sleeping outside in these temperatures did come in for safety and shelter, which is a great thing,” Hook said.

Joseph David was out in the snow working early Sunday helping board up a vandalized business and then realized he’d need to rely on FACETS for shelter that night into this week.

“It was bad, but when I came here, this place has been a blessing for helping us out through the hardship,” David said.

Hook says they are bracing for continued high demand. She’s hopeful even more community partners will come forward — the churches that provide meals, volunteers to serve the food, people to donate coats, hats and gloves.

“The measure of community is how it treats those who are dealing with the toughest situations or the most vulnerable,” Joe Fay, the executive director of FACETS, said. “I think we should all be proud of the way our community is coming together to try to provide shelter, and a meal and a safe place for our fellow residents and our neighbors.”