The local Point-in-Time Count is part of a nationwide count that occurs during the last 10 days in January each year. The census helps to highlight trends, justify requests for federal funding and measure community progress towards preventing and ending homelessness.

Last year, the Point-in-Time count of both sheltered and unsheltered homeless people dropped to 451. That’s down two percent from 461 in 2011.

“In this ‘great recession,’ the number of homeless people in Arlington has actually been trending downward for the last three years,” said A-SPAN Executive Director Kathleen Sibert. “Arlington non-profits and the county have done a great job of connecting people with housing; and we hope this year’s count will be even lower now that the 100 Homes Campaign has already housed 47 homeless adults.”

From 6:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m. todady, census teams will visit areas frequented by homeless individuals such as Metro stations, parks, malls and meal serving sites. Additionally, there are six indoor meeting places used for the count, and meals are served to encourage participation. Staff members will also distribute hygiene kits and socks donated by Marymount Women’s Basketball team.

“Survey questions go beyond headcounts and ask about instances of domestic abuse, veteran status, and disabilities in order to learn more about the specific homeless population in Arlington and what resources are needed,” said Sibert.

The annual report for Arlington’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness was presented to the County Board yesterday (Tuesday). It showed that 708 individuals used Arlington homeless shelters at some time in 2012, which is a six percent increase over 2011. However, the average length of time a person stayed in shelter decreased by 28 percent. The average stay for homeless families showed the most significant improvement, dropping from an average stay of 5.4 months to three months.

“The goal of the 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness is that no individual or family lack access to decent, affordable housing,” said County Board Chairman Walter Tejada. “That is a tall order in these troubled economic times, but this report, the progress we are making in housing Arlington’s most-at-risk homeless persons who were identified last year, and the County’s many programs aimed at getting those in need into housing shows that we intend to meet that goal.”

Arlington Small Business Saturday – This holiday weekend, in addition to today’s traditional Black Friday shopping bonanza, Arlington residents will be able to participate in “Arlington Small Business Saturday.” The day encourages Arlingtonians to shop and dine at small, local businesses this weekend. ”Your favorite retail, dining and online small businesses are participating and providing discounts or incentives on a variety of products and services,” according to organizers.

Retirement Ceremony for Therapy Dog – Bailey, a therapy dog at the Capital Hospice Halquist Center near Virginia Hospital Center, is retiring after 10 years of service to those who have life-limiting illnesses. A private retirement ceremony will be held for Bailey, a golden retriever, at the hospice center on Monday night. “Cider, special Goldrush brownies and dog treats will be served,” according to an online invitation.

Library Recovers from Database Crash — The electronic catalog and accounts system for Arlington Public Library and Arlington Public Schools is back up and running after crashing last Friday. “We are very pleased to report that our system is back online, along with research databases, and that most if not all data feared lost has been recovered and restored,” the library said on its web site. “Your privacy was never compromised. We are taking steps to prevent such an outage from happening again.” [Arlington Public Library]

Homeless Navy Vet Gets Apartment — Ernest Maas, a 61-year-old Navy veteran, is giving thanks this Thanksgiving weekend for the roof over his head. Maas got the keys to a new apartment in Arlington on Wednesday after spending the past three years homeless and living in the woods around Four Mile Run. The new apartment was coordinated by the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network. [WJLA]

Arlington Hotels: Tax Us, Please — The Hotel General Managers’ Committee of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce and the Arlington Tourism Coalition are hoping to lobby the Virginia General Assembly to reinstate the county’s hotel tax surcharge. The 0.25 percent tax on hotel rooms in Arlington generated nearly $1 million per year that went to tourism promotion efforts. State lawmakers declined to renew the tax last year in retaliation for Arlington’s fight against HOT lanes on I-395. [Sun Gazette]

The claim is based on a benchmark set by the National Alliance to End Homelessness — cities or counties that moved 2.5 percent of their chronically ill homeless population into permanent housing each month made the list.

Arlington’s “100 Homes” campaign, a partnership with the nonprofit A-SPAN, put about 30 homeless people with life-threatening medical issues into permanent, federally-funded supported housing since starting up last October.

“It does actually cost the community a lot more to leave them homeless,” said A-SPAN Director of Development Jan-Michael Sacharko. “If you can keep people out of the emergency room, out of shelters, out of jails, you save a lot more money.”

The initiative, an outgrowth of the national “100,000 Homes” campaign, was cost-free, Department of Human Services spokesman Kurt Larrick said.

And it rallied significant volunteer support. About 180 volunteers went out at 4 a.m. for three days last fall to survey the homeless and check for those with hypothermia, chronic kidney disease, AIDS, HIV or other diseases.

“We’ve always had data on people who were homeless in Arlington,” Larrick said. “This was the most specific.”

Larrick said the survey found 113 “extremely vulnerable” homeless people. The 30 who moved into permanent housing did so with existing county and federal housing programs. Many are clients of A-SPAN, which provides individual case managers to track progress.

As of Arlington’s last count, which came in January, there are 451 homeless people on the streets and in homeless shelters, Larrick said.

Flickr pool photo by Chris Rief

Citizen Feedback on Streetcar Mostly Negative – The Washington Post counted all 270 citizen comments received by the Pike Transit Initiative regarding the planned Columbia Pike streetcar. Of the comments, 78 were “pro-streetcar,” 86 supported additional bus service instead of the streetcar, and 59 wanted no streetcar or no change. Our poll, conducted last week, found that 50 percent of respondents preferred the streetcar while 34 percent wanted articulated buses instead and 16 percent wanted no change. [Washington Post]

Arlington May Get ‘Drug Court’ – Arlington is seeking state approval to establish a “drug court.” The court would provide an alternative for dealing with nonviolent drug offenders. “It will help people who are in dire need of substance-abuse services, and will cut down on incarceration for folks who have substance-abuse issues only,” according to a supporter in the local Office of the Public Defender. [Sun Gazette]

A-SPAN Handing Out Water Bottles– Today the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network (A-SPAN) will embark on a “day of outreach” to determine the needs of the homeless living throughout Arlington. In addition to visiting the homeless where they live — areas including “Crystal City, National Airport, Rosslyn, and the wooded area near the Key Bridge and Roosevelt Island” — A-SPAN volunteers will be handing out more than 1,300 bottles of water, a gift from Ashlawn Elementary Students.

‘Sister Mary Ignatius’ Reviewed – Theater critic Terry Ponick takes a look at the American Century Theater production of Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You. The one-act play is being performed at Gunston Theatre II (2700 S. Lang Street) through July 7. [Washington Times]

Flickr pool photo by Divaknevil

The grant — one of the $2.1 million in grants awarded by HUD in Virginia — will help A-SPAN and its “Open Doors” program provide housing and case management for six chronically homeless adults in Arlington over the next year. A-SPAN currently provides housing and case management for 24 chronically homeless adults who suffer from mental illness and/or substance abuse.

“The clients we will house are those that have been homeless for many years and have been diagnosed with a mental illness and other severe health problems,” A-SPAN Executive Director Kathleen Sibert said in a press release. “Despite those difficulties, we’ve shown that these clients can be successful, but they are our most vulnerable neighbors. Helping them get into housing is our main goal and what we’re working toward with the 100 Homes for 100 Homeless Arlingtonians Campaign.”

Nonprofits Ask for Funds at Budget Hearing — A public hearing on the county’s proposed tax rate changes is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. tonight. Meanwhile, Tuesday’s budget hearing was largely dominated by the pleas of nonprofits — those that help the homeless, provide affordable housing, work for the rights of immigrants, etc. — for full funding in FY 2013. In one particularly poignant moment, the executive director of the Arlington Street Peoples’ Assistance Network told County Board members that a homeless man who was found dead on Monday was an A-SPAN client and an Arlington native. [Sun Gazette, Patch]

Eventide Creates Cocktail for Cherry Blossom Fest — Eventide Restaurant (3165 Wilson Blvd) has created a specialty cocktail in honor of the Cherry Blossom Festival. Bar manager Tim Irwin even created a video to show budding mixologists how to make his creation — the “Kyoto Cocktail” — which is made with Bison Grass Vodka, Ginger Liqueur, Vanilla Syrup and Fresh Grapefruit Juice. [YouTube]

Lawmakers Ask for Solitary Confinement Probe — Del. Patrick Hope and Sen. Adam Ebbin of Arlington have joined Del. Charniele Herring of Alexandria in writing a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, asking the federal government to investigate the alleged overuse of solitary confinement in Virginia. The Democratic state lawmakers say solitary confinement is in some cases being used as “a form of psychological torture.” [Washington Post]

New CFO for Artisphere — Artisphere has hired a new Chief Financial Officer. The new CFO will “manage the complexity of financial operations” at the Rosslyn arts venue. [Arlington Mercury]

Ovechkin Buys New House — Capitals star Alex Ovechkin may be ditching his $1.6 million home in Arlington’s Waycroft-Woodlawn neighborhood for some tonier digs. Ovechkin recently bought a $4.2 million, 11,000 square foot house in Fairfax County. He’ll have some extra time to get settled — the Capitals captain just decided to skip the NHL All-Star game after being suspended for three games. [ProHockeyTalk]

Grocery Store Bike Parking Guide — Need to do some grocery shopping, but worried about where to park your bike while you’re in the store? If so, the BikeArlington web site has just the resource for you: a complete guide to bike parking at 16 Arlington grocery stories. [BikeArlington]

Live Music Comes to Melody Tavern — Live music has come to Melody Tavern (3650 S. Glebe Road), a recently-opened music-themed restaurant/lounge near Potomac Yard in south Arlington. Live jazz and blues performances will start at Melody Tavern tonight, and will continue on nearly every night except Mondays through the end of February. The restaurant will also be holding a grand opening event from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m on Feb. 3. Arlington County granted Melody Tavern a live entertainment permit over the weekend. [Facebook]

Homeless Count Underway — An effort to provide a count of the number of homeless individuals living in Arlington County started at 4:00 this morning and will continue through midnight. The annual volunteer effort is being organized by the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network. “This local count is part of a nation-wide count that occurs during the last ten days in January in order to collect accurate data, understand trends, justify requests for federal funding, and measure community progress towards preventing and ending homelessness,” A-SPAN said.

Flickr pool photo by Alex

Arlington first publicly proposed the purchase of 2020 14th Street N. last month, saying that the building would help the county consolidate overflow office space, would facilitate the redevelopment of the Courthouse area, and would serve as the site of a long-desired comprehensive homeless service center. The homeless shelter would take up two floors of the seven-story building, which the county has valued at $25.5 million, and would replace the current emergency winter homeless shelter, located two blocks away.

Most of the several dozen people who spoke at last night’s marathon county board meeting stated their support for a year-round shelter. But the speakers were split between those who voiced support for 2020 14th Street being the site of that homeless shelter and a very vocal group — largely residents of the Woodbury Heights condominium, located next to the proposed shelter — who spoke out against it.

Concerns about safety and property values were the crux of the opposition to the proposed shelter.

“I just want to say that we’re not assholes… because that’s what it’s going to sound like,” said Woodbury Heights resident Meredith Fox. “I absolutely support, one million percent, helping homeless people getting full care. My issue… is safety. For any woman to enter our home, we are now going to have to walk by many [homeless] people who are standing outside.”

“Would you buy a [condo] right next to the homeless shelter?” asked resident Kerry Britton. “Maybe the one six blocks away looks better all of a sudden. If my property goes down 10 percent, that’s $42,000 for me and my husband.”

Britton noted that she and her self-described “NIMBY” neighbors all support the idea of a comprehensive homeless shelter — just not next to their condo.

“There are many other less expensive parts of the county where the homeless shelter and government offices can locate,” said resident Joanna Kim.

Other speakers against the shelter included a Woodbury Heights resident who broke down in tears as she described being sexually assaulted by a homeless man in a train station years earlier, and two young girls who said that, as Woodbury Heights residents, they worried about homeless individuals cursing, smoking and drinking on the street where they catch the bus to school.

“That may influence us to make poor choices later in life,” one of the girls said.

The intense opposition was counterbalanced by passionate supporters of the year-round homeless shelter, who made a strong showing at the board meeting.

Among the pro-shelter speakers were church pastors, representatives from community groups, a real estate developer, a business improvement district director, and volunteers from the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network. A-SPAN runs the emergency winter shelter and would run the proposed year-round shelter.

“We are poised at a moment in Arlington’s history where we have the resources and we have the opportunity to do what is right and to do what is just,” said Rev. Tim Hickey, of the Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church in south Arlington. “The measure of the values of any community can be seen in how they treat and deal with one another, but most importantly in how they treat and deal with those that are most vulnerable among them.”

“No one wants the homeless living on our streets in Arlington,” said Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing President Nina Janopaul. “It’s inhumane, and it… costs our community dearly in terms of hospitalization and jail costs. A new year round shelter and homeless service center will help our homeless transition into permanent supportive housing to lead productive lives. That’s what we all want.”

A number of speakers tried to debunk fears of increased crime from the homeless shelter — pointing our that Arlington County police headquarters is directly across the street, and that A-SPAN has a good track record in terms of mitigating impact on communities in other locations where it provides homeless services.

Several formerly homeless individuals told stories about how A-SPAN helped to turn their lives around.

“Before I entered the emergency winter shelter, I was on the streets and feeling hopeless,” said David Marand, a military veteran who served in Afghanistan. “Going through the shelter was the best thing for me, because it opened doors that I would not have been able to access on my own.”

After hours of testimony, as the clock approached 12:45 a.m., the board voted unanimously to approve the purchase. The county will now attempt to negotiate a purchase price with the building owner. If it cannot negotiate a “fair” price, the county has threatened to use its power of eminent domain to purchase the building.

“It’s going to be a first-rate program,” County Board member Barbara Favola said of the homeless service center/shelter. “We have to be prepared to roll up our sleeves and make it work.”

Despite last night’s drama, the year-round shelter is not yet a done deal. The County Board will have to approve a special exception use permit for the shelter once the building is purchased and the shelter is ready to move in.

Jeffrey Miller, a Woodbury Heights resident, says he and other condo owners are contemplating their next move.

“We’re still gathering information, and evaluating future actions,” Miller told ARLnow.com “Remember, it was only three weeks ago that the County first unveiled this proposal. We have to determine how to address the County’s failure to consult with the neighborhood (or even to provide minimal advance notice), as well as how to pursue our substantive concerns over the proposed acquisition and usage.”

Woodbury Heights residents weren’t the only ones who opposed the building purchase. Several business owners, who rent office space in the building, spoke out against the purchase last night. The county said that existing leaseholders (with the exception of ground floor retailers and restaurants) will eventually be moved out of the building to make way for county offices and the homeless shelter. Those tenants, the county said, will be provided with relocation assistance.

Residents of the Woodbury Heights building (1301 N. Courthouse Road) have been distributing flyers (pictured), emailing officials and calling media outlets with a litany of concerns over the plan. Chief among them: worries about safety, property values and neighborhood “charm.”

“I work long hours, which often means I am in this area when it is dark,” said one female resident, in a letter to County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman. “I would feel considerably less safe with the shelter’s entrance so close to what is in essence the front door of my home.”

“The shelter will drive down property values in the area, especially the values of the homes in Woodbury Heights,” the resident continued. “Considering the weak housing market, my home will be even less attractive and competitive to prospective buyers.”

Residents brought their concerns to a Tuesday night meeting with Deputy County Manager Marsha Allgeier and Kathy Sibert of the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network, which runs the current emergency winter shelter and would run the new shelter.

Sibert said the meeting was “very emotional” for residents but added that she can understand the worries.

“Anytime there’s a change in your neighborhood, you’re very, very concerned, and I understand that,” said Sibert, A-SPAN’s Executive Director. “What I can assure them is that we will have staff there 24/7, and they will have our number, and we will be their neighbor, and we will address any concern they have.”

Sibert pointed out that the office building, at 2020 14th Street N., is directly across the street from the entrance to Arlington County Police headquarters, and only two blocks from the emergency winter shelter. By being open year-round, she continued, the shelter will actually keep homeless individuals off the streets of Courthouse.

“The design… is such that there will be less loitering, less homeless living on the street,” Sibert said. “The police are literally across the street. That can’t get any safer. And we have a really good working relationship with the police.”

Some opponents of the county’s plan say they aren’t opposed to the idea of housing the homeless, they don’t want a shelter located next to theirs and other residential buildings.

“It is my understanding that Arlington has articulated a plan to end homelessness in Arlington through long-term permanent housing,” said the woman who wrote the letter to Zimmerman. “This is a goal I share and support. Respectfully, this proposal seems haphazard and a questionable use of scarce resources since, by definition, this shelter will not be permanent housing. The building is an office building, and an old one at that. I question whether this is actually the best solution for some of Arlington’s most vulnerable citizens.”

“Currently, some of the condo association owners actually volunteer at the emergency winter shelter,” said Sibert. “So they’re not opposed to the creation of a year-round shelter. But it’s always… ‘not in my backyard.’”

Sibert said smaller A-SPAN shelters are located in residential neighborhoods, and have not presented any of the problems that Woodbury Heights residents are worried about.

“It hasn’t impacted the safety of the neighborhood or the property values,” she said.

In addition to the homeless shelter, the 2020 14th Street N. building would also be used to house various Arlington County government offices. Current business tenants in the building have also come out against the proposed purchase, which would eventually force them to move. Those business owners plan to meet with Woodbury Heights residents tonight to discuss a joint response to the county’s plan.

Rosslyn will hold its annual holiday light-up night on Thursday. The event will feature speeches, music, free food and drink, and a winter clothing collection drive in front of the WJLA Jumbotron at the corner of Wilson Boulevard and N. Lynn Street.

From a press release:

The Rosslyn Business Improvement District (BID), Artisphere and Arlington Cultural Affairs welcome the 2011 holiday season with the 18th Annual LIGHT UP Rosslyn ceremony on Thursday, December 1, from 5:15 p.m.–6:30 p.m. NewsChannel 8 Anchor Morris Jones will host the evening’s outdoor festivities in front of the WJLA Jumbotron, located at 1100 Wilson Blvd. Arlington County Board Chair Christopher Zimmerman will offer remarks and then share the honors with Jones and Rosslyn BID Board President Peter Greenwald as they flip a giant switch to light up the Rosslyn skyline. The musical groups Beltway Brass and Snowday will perform holiday favorites, and Santa Fe Café will offer complimentary hot cocoa and chili.

The rooftops of nearly 40 properties will be illuminated. Rosslyn commercial and residential property owners whose buildings will be part of the 2011 LIGHT UP include, Beacon Capital, Clover Management, The JBG Companies, Key Bridge Marriott, London House, Monday Properties, Normandy House, Paramount Group, Penzance Companies, Tishman Speyer, River Place, Virginian Suites, Vornado, Waterview and Weissberg Corporation.

“It’s great to have so many Rosslyn property owners participating in this festive event,” said Arlington County Board Chair Christopher Zimmerman. “The Rosslyn BID does a wonderful job of kicking-off the holiday season with LIGHT UP Rosslyn while helping individuals in need through the annual clothes drive.”

LIGHT UP Rosslyn also serves as the final collection point for warm winter clothing, which the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network (A-SPAN) will distribute to clients who need it most. Rosslyn BID Ambassadors will be on hand to receive new or gently used winter coats, sweaters, sweatshirts, hats, gloves, socks and jeans. This year’s winter clothing drive began on November 7, when the Rosslyn BID placed collection bins in offices and residential buildings around Rosslyn.

Photo by Steve Uzzell/Rosslyn BID