The Center for Economic Support guides Alexandrians in accessing a range of human service programs and benefits, works to reduce homelessness and prevent evictions, operationalizes strategies to address food scarcity and helps people obtain training and employment.

The Partnership to Prevent and End Homelessness (PPEH) continued to support strategies to address eviction and homelessness such as outreach, case management, financial assistance, and education. Additionally, the PPEH worked on finalizing the 2023-2028 Strategic Plan, which includes priorities such as racial equity, consideration of the history of Alexandria, education, awareness, and inclusion of residents with lived expertise in decision-making.

The Eviction Prevention Task Force continued to bring community partners together to prevent the eviction of renters. Legal Services of Northern Virginia lead courthouse outreach, which offered targeted information for residents in the eviction process and supported households in applying to expunge their records from previous eviction court cases. Other supportive measures include community outreach, tenant awareness education, service navigation, legal representation, housing relocation, and moving and storage support.

Homeless Services has seen an increase in homelessness (sheltered and unsheltered), yet the rate has decreased in comparison to pre-pandemic figures. The January 2020 Point-In-Time Count (pre-pandemic) identified 207 people experiencing homelessness, which declined to 120 people by 2022 due to COVID-related funding and measures. By January 2023, there was a 17% increase, with 144 people identified as homeless.

Emergency homeless shelters reduced their capacity to 50% during the pandemic to abide by CDC guidelines.  In 2023, the shelters returned to 100% capacity and over the year, a waitlist formed for families and individuals to enter shelter.

The Food Security Program oversaw food-related efforts including gathering data on needs, creating a baseline report on food security and food access in Alexandria, and partnering with community organizations to connect all eligible Alexandrians to SNAP electronic food benefit cards and community food resources.

The Free Income Tax Preparation Program served 375 low-income taxpayers and completed returns for 339 taxpayers who received $2,880,851 in net federal refunds. These refunds included $126,819 in federal Earned Income Credit and $80,765 in federal Child Tax Credits. At an average cost of $268 for preparing tax returns, these taxpayers also saved $86,564 in tax preparation fees. This program was supported by 23 tax program volunteers for a total of 785 hours worked on the program.

The Summer Youth Employment Program employed 202 youth through 55 host businesses. At the end of summer Closing Ceremony, 100 youth received new laptops, generously donated by Comcast.  AT&T generously donated $10,000 to the program, which allowed the City to serve more youth through paid part-time jobs.

The Work-Based Learning (WBL)* program placed 116 clients of all ages with employers for learning opportunities. Of these, 68 people transitioned into permanent employment, earning an average wage of $23.82 per hour.  This permanent placement rate of 65%, underscores WBL’s dedication to achieving high employment outcomes.

*WBL is a project funded by The American Rescue Plan Act , which was signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021.

See the Food Access Alexandria Newsletter and the Performance Analytics Dashboard displaying progress in meeting priorities for access to food, jobs and reduced eviction rates. Learn more about employment and job training, benefit programs and housing and homeless services.