Prince William County moves forward with plans for Homeless Navigation Center in Woodbridge

The construction of the Homeless navigation center in the east of Prince William County moved a little closer on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, with a unanimous vote to approve a zoning map amendment to use five parcels of land owned by the county for the center’s construction.

The land near Potomac Mills mall contains the OmniRide transit center, the regional bus hub, and Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission offices. The north portion of these five parcels, fronting Potomac Mills Road, is the former site of the Bill Mehr Drop-In Center, which provides meals, showers, and opportunities to connect and interact socially. The drop-in center is temporarily located at the Ferlazzo Building, a county government office complex on Route 1 in Woodbridge.

The county plans to demolish the old drop-in shelter and its parking lot and construct a new homeless shelter.

The west and south portions of these five parcels contain the location of the OmniRide bus storage yard, maintenance building, and employee parking. In the southeast portion is the county-owned building and its associated parking, which is currently occupied and operated by
Social Services will remain.

This site already contains a one-story former shelter that will be demolished and replaced with a new structure. Eventually, all five parcels of land will be consolidated.

The Prince William County Planning Commission and staff have reviewed the proposal, and both favored and recommended its approval.

Prince William County Occoquan Supervisor Kenny Boddye thanked the planning department for their work and said the project “was long overdue and needs to be moving faster.”

Coles District Supervisor Yesli Vega echoed those same thoughts but also wondered when proposals would be put forth for a homeless navigation center in the west of the County as outlined in the action strategy.

According to the county’s comprehensive plan, adopted December 13, 2022, the county plans to “open homeless navigation centers in eastern and western Prince William County to increase the County’s ability to respond to emergent needs of people experiencing homelessness.

Several homeless shelters assist individuals and families in need in Prince William County and Manassas.

The Bill Mehr Drop-In Center, located at 15941 Donald Curtis Drive, the Ferlazzo Building, in Woodbridge, offers meals, showers, and various support services to help with health, employment, education, and housing needs.

The Hilda Barg Homeless Prevention Center, at 14945 Jefferson Davis Highway in Woodbridge, provides a year-round shelter for families and single adults, offering case management and job readiness programs.

The Ferlazzo Emergency Shelter, also located at 15941 Donald Curtis Drive in Woodbridge, serves single adults with a focus on providing assistance to navigate the system and access support programs.

Additionally, the Beverly Warren Emergency Shelter, operated by Action in Community Through Services (ACTS) in Dumfries, offers an 18-bed shelter for women and families with housing-focused case management.

The SERVE Family Shelter, operated by Northern Virginia Family Services (NVFS) in Manassas, provides a 90-bed emergency shelter for families and single adults, focusing on housing-focused case management.

Finally, the Supportive Shelter, operated by StreetLight Community Outreach Ministries in Woodbridge, offers eight beds. It caters to individuals with medical challenges or disabilities, focusing on immediate needs and permanent housing solutions.

In September 2020, Prince William County officials tried to use federal coronavirus funds to establish a homeless shelter in Dumfries. However, County Supervisor Andrea Bailey, representing the Potomac District encompassing Dumfries, requested the town’s Planning Commission to remove a request for consideration for the project from its agenda to amend zoning ordinances to allow the homeless shelter in the town’s B1 zoning district.

The reason behind Bailey’s request remains undisclosed.

Discussion about the planned homeless shelter was also quashed at the Dumfries Town Council’s agenda. Negotiations had commenced with the owners of Grace Church, located at 1006 Williamstown Boulevard, for the potential purchase of the church to convert it into a shelter.

In the end, Grace Church purchased a property about a mile away, at the corner of Route 234 and Van Buren Road, and built a new facility. The building that was to become the homeless shelter now houses the Prince William Campus of Potomac Valley Church.

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