Temporary Overflow Shelter To Open Next Week In Reston: Fairfax County

RESTON, VA — The North County Human Services Temporary Overnight Shelter will be opening 5 p.m. on Monday, July 29, with the support of Fairfax County and Cornerstones, according to the Office to Prevent and End Homelessness.

“I am pleased the temporary overnight shelter will be opening soon, and I welcome the community’s support as nonprofits and faith communities come together tomorrow to discuss how they can help," said Hunter Mill Supervisor Walter Alcorn. "This overnight shelter will help meet immediate shelter needs and is a step towards replacement of the old Embry Rucker Shelter with a new, modern facility, along with permanent supportive housing, as part of the Reston Town Center North community facilities plan endorsed by the Board of Supervisors last year.”

The shelter, which will be operated by Cornerstones, will be located at the North County Human Services Center at 1850 Cameron Glen Drive in Reston. Beginning on July 29, the shelter will be open from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. To inquire about the shelter, call 703-326-6565. If you are unable to reaching the onsite staff, contact the Embry Rucker Community Shelter at 703-437-1975 for assistance. Program contact: email Edwina Jackson

Related: Temporary Overflow Shelter To Open For Reston's Unhoused Residents

The temporary overflow shelter will provide safe shelter and food, as well as the following services, according to Fairfax County:

• Assistance with registering for Federal benefits
• Obtaining IDs and passports
• Securing safe, permanent affordable housing
• Emergency medical assistance, as needed
• Temporary work opportunities through Fairfax County's Storm Water Management Services' Operation Stream Shield program
• Access to Cornerstones Assistance Services and Food Pantry program

The opening of the temporary overflow shelter addresses a need that Fairfax County's unhoused population faces every year, when the county's hypothermia shelter closes for the season at the end of March.

"We have a lot of folks that need temporary shelter," Alcorn said, during a March 27 news conference. "Embry Rucker Shelter is full and that's been the case for a while."

In years past, about half the people who used the hypothermia shelter were able to find other accommodations once it closed, according Alcorn. The remaining would end up staying in their cars or in tents, individually or in encampments.

The overflow shelter will be within walking distance of Embry Rucker, the North County Government Center, and the Reston Regional Library.

Since the North County Human Services Center is located within the Reston Town Center North development area, it would have to be cleared anyway once work on that project begins. As part of the development, a new, 25,000 square-foot Embry Rucker Shelter would be built, as well as a new Reston Regional Library.