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Investments in Strong, Healthy Communities: Advocacy Priorities
The recession has impacted budget discussions at both the state and local levels. Tough choices are being made at the same time that the needs of our children and working families are growing. Many of the reductions adopted at the state level - since few fees or revenue options were on the table - will have a drastic impact on children living in poverty, working families, and individuals with mental health problems, as well as impacting education and healthcare.
The Fairfax County Proposed Budget uses a balanced approach through reasonable revenue and spending reductions that emphasizes core human services that matter to all of us. The budget has reserves to mitigate the impact of some state cuts and to plan for additional human service emergencies.
The "Housing Blueprint" (click here) if fully funded by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, will continue our County's commitment to meet the housing needs of all of our citizens. For FY2011, the Blueprint focuses on those with the greatest need, such as meeting the goals set in the Ten Year Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness (Office to Prevent and End Homelessness website) and providing housing to homeless and at risk families/individuals, while also emphasizing workforce housing and the need to fund projects in the pipeline. The Housing Blueprint is a critical piece in the continued economic recovery and growth of our County.
Providing stable housing first is at the core of the recent success of FACETS' Hypothermia program and the recent move of five families into housing. We must continue as a community to meet the affordable housing needs of our neighbors as we seek to build a strong and diverse community.
Please contact your Board of Supervisors in support of their balanced approached and ask them to fully fund the Housing Blueprint (Board of Supervisors contact info).
The Case
• During times of economic stress, it is more critical than ever to preserve services that provide the most basic protections for life and safety and that sustain working families. That includes continued support for human services programs and services to men, women and children and investments that spur business development, economic recovery and help for working families.
• Core services for vulnerable residents, to prevent or manage financial or other crises must be sustained during hard economic times. This includes programs for seniors, the disabled, and the homeless and vulnerable families.
• Programs that offer medical care and treatment programs for those suffering from mental illness or substance abuse are critical to the health and safety of all in our community.
• Our economy is dependent on the productivity and contributions of our diverse workforce. At times like these, working families face even greater challenges. Too many don’t make enough money to make ends meet. Others are working two and three jobs at minimum wage. Some have reported losing hours at work, or losing benefits or losing their jobs altogether. Fairfax County must sustain programs – such as the childcare fee subsidy program – that enable working families to stay at work or participate in job training programs to improve their skills and incomes.
• One of the hardest things that anyone can face is the loss of a home or the inability to find housing. Fairfax County has been and will continue to be hit hard by the foreclosure crisis. Lack of affordable housing leaves families without options and can contribute to overcrowded and unsafe living conditions. In a County as prosperous as ours, the fact that nearly 700 children – 35% of our homeless population – are being raised in cars or in homeless shelters is unacceptable. In terms of preventing and ending homelessness.
The Message to Fairfax County
While the County is facing budget shortages that are a direct result of the housing market decline in this area, it is critical that any decisions about cuts in this area take into account three things:
1. Preserving the safety-net of the most vulnerable members of our community.
Specific to FACETS
- Maintain level of funding or increasing funding for basic needs services and capacity of nonprofits in the Consolidated Community Funding Pool for FY11 (This funds our Emergency Services, Education and Community Development, Motel Outreach and On Call programs)
2. The need to restore the Penny for Housing Trust Fund that has preserved over 2200 affordable homes for working families over the past three years and work with partners to reestablish a shared goal of affordable housing at all income levels for Fairfax County.
3. The success of the 10 year plan and its unique features is that it brings together housing, social services, community prevention efforts and sets up a coordinated governance structure that is a partnership between government, nonprofits and private sector/community partners. We know what needs to be done and what works. Do not make decisions about cuts in homeless services in isolation
Specific to FACETS
- Continue to fund Hypothermia Prevention programs and work with partners providing services to increase support for case management with the goal of permanent supportive housing.
- Maintain current funding for Permanent Supportive Housing Pilot started in 2008 and explore opportunities for Single Resident Occupancy Housing (SRO)
What Should Be Considered When Making Cuts
1) Be strategic - if things must be cut, do not do just cut across the board because there are some programs essential to life and safety, and the health and well being of our children and other vulnerable residents that must be protected.
2) Consider implications of cuts in one department that could impact programs/services in another areas - i.e., don’t make random cuts without understanding implications in another department (example, Ten Year Plan is interdependent between departments of housing, prevention, and social services).
3) Do consider revenue increases, new taxes (meals tax) and establishing user fees or increasing user fees or applying sliding scale fees where possible for non-essential services for the period of the bad budget years.
4) Do not cut areas that are economic stimulus or support recovery of economy and keeping families working, i.e.: childcare subsidies for low-income families, Penny Fund for housing, helping neighborhoods recover from foreclosure.
