Reston residents can shape county homelessness plan

A new five-year plan to prevent and end homelessness across Reston and surrounding communities is open for public comment through Friday, Sept. 18.

The Fairfax-Falls Church Continuum of Care released a draft of "The Way Home Fairfax," covering 2026 through 2031. The plan spans Fairfax County, the Cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, and the Towns of Clifton, Herndon and Vienna. An online survey is collecting resident feedback before the plan is finalized.

The plan sets four goals: helping people who are homeless find stable housing faster, preventing homelessness before it starts, improving support for people who have experienced homelessness the longest, and building public understanding of what works.

The survey asks whether the plan focuses on the right priorities, what respondents would change and how they want to track progress. Options include email updates, a public dashboard or community meetings. An executive summary and the full report are both available for download on the survey page.

Rising numbers behind the plan

The plan arrives as homelessness in Fairfax County continues to climb. A Point-in-Time count conducted Feb. 4 found 1,365 people experiencing homelessness countywide. That is 43 more people than the 2025 count of 1,322, a 3 percent increase. The upward trend stretches back to 2017, when the count stood at 964.

The numbers have not reversed.

Most of the 2026 increase came from adults in emergency shelters. Of the 1,365 people counted, 1,195 were in emergency shelters, 99 in transitional housing and 71 unsheltered, according to the Fairfax Times.

Reston's local role

In Reston, the nonprofit Reston Strong operates the Reston Remakery, a youth-run day center that provides three meals a day, a clothing closet, laundry and an art room. Sarah Selvaraj-D'Souza, co-founder of Reston Strong, told the Fairfax Times in a Sept. 4 article that the county needs more overnight capacity. "As one of the wealthiest counties in the country, we should have a place where folks can actually go and sleep indoors," she said.

Allyson Pearce, the county's contact for the strategic plan, told the Fairfax Times in the same Sept. 4 article that the Board of Supervisors and the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority aim to create 10,000 new affordable housing units by 2034.

How to participate

The draft plan and survey are available at publicinput.com/c84734. Responses are due by Friday, Sept. 18. Residents can also contact Pearce at 703-246-6033 or [email protected]. No date has been announced for when the Board of Supervisors will vote to adopt the final plan.