Ending Veteran Homelessness: Our Community Reaches Functional Zero
Miriam's House is proud to lead the Central Virginia Continuum of Care, our local coalition working to end homelessness, and we were thrilled to participate in the announcement that Lynchburg has functionally ended veteran homelessness!
In August 2020, elected officials, veterans, and community leaders gathered outside at Monument Terrace in downtown Lynchburg to celebrate this achievement.
The term “functional zero” means that there are fewer veterans experiencing homelessness than can be housed in a month—that the community has the resources to serve EVERY veteran that becomes homeless. And we are thrilled to share that, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, our community has been able to sustain this milestone.
Our veterans, those who have dedicated their lives to our country, are an integral part of our community—they are our family members, our coworkers, our neighbors. Ensuring they have a safe place to call home is one of the most basic ways we can honor their service.
Lynchburg is just the 12th community in the country to reach functional zero, and is one of 80+ Built for Zero communities proving homelessness is not only solvable, but being solved — even in the face of unprecedented challenges.
Though homelessness has always been a matter of life and death, the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored this reality in a more stark and urgent way than ever before. And, as an even greater threat to vulnerable populations, the pandemic is poised to drive an unprecedented surge in new homelessness.
With historic rates of unemployment and eviction moratoria lifting across the country, Lynchburg is readying itself to address a massive inflow into homelessness. And, with a system that has proven to promptly identify and support veterans, our community plans to protect its progress on veteran homelessness while expanding our efforts to end homelessness for other homeless neighbors.
Our community has taken anonymity out of homelessness. Maintaining a homeless response system that can identify veterans experiencing homelessness, by name and in real time, is as critical as ever. By reaching functional zero, the Central Virginia Continuum of Care has built a data-driven system that can keep homelessness rare and brief when it occurs. In total, it took the collaboration of 32 area homeless response organizations to achieve functional zero. Miriam’s House is proud to lead this effort!
View the press conference and news report to learn more.