Homeward’s History of Strategic Co-location
Homeward • Jun 08, 2018
Why the big move?
As we’ve mentioned in previous communications, on Wednesday of this week Homeward moved our offices from our location of 10 years at 1125 Commerce Rd. to 9211 Forest Hill Ave. Suite 200 Richmond 23235. We are thankful that the building on Commerce Rd is being converted into more than 100 units of income-based housing,
a much needed resource in our community, but we will surely miss being co-located with our friends and colleagues at CARITAS. Sharing a building with CARITAS, an organization that provides 4 programs of direct services to hundreds of people in crisis, offered strategic insight into how Homeward could best coordinate services to meet the needs of our friends and neighbors without housing.
Co-locating with strategic partners has, and continues to be, a cornerstone to Homeward’s ability to plan and coordinate homeless service delivery in Greater Richmond. When we started in 1998 we shared space with United Way on E. Broad in what is now the VCU police station. As a new planning agency this gave us the opportunity to partner with an organization with great success in coordinating across sectors to bring about system-level change.
In 2005, Homeward had the opportunity to move into a space on E. Franklin St. that we shared with Virginia Supportive Housing. This was our first time being co-located with a homeless service provider partner and it set the stage for our next move to share space with CARITAS on Commerce Rd. in 2008. This proved to be our home for the greatest length of time so far and during the last 10 years we have seen our community’s collaborative ability grow to reduce homelessness by nearly 50%. We know that no one agency can solve the difficult issue of homelessness and so we are thankful to have had the opportunity to partner in location and work with these organizations.
Our strategic co-location with other community-focused organizations continues, as we are now sharing a floor with the Richmond Regional Planning District Commission (RRPDC). Like Homeward, RRPDC is a regional planning agency serving the same geographic footprint as our community’s network of homeless service providers. We look forward to the opportunity to build new partnerships that will push the needle of public policy on the issue of homelessness so that our community can continue to see a decrease in the number of people without stable housing.
In closing, we must admit that earlier this week we were feeling a bit nostalgic in saying goodbye to our old office space. Ten years in one location brought with it a lot of memories-from two staff members saving a catfish displaced on Commerce Rd.(presumably by a bird, but who really knows?), to flooding on the second floor, to all the impromptu collaboration between Homeward and CARITAS staff-and for each of them we are thankful. That being said, we are also VERY thankful that our new office has windows! And while our staff is still enamored by the fact that we can see outside, we are already hard at work in our new space. So come by and see us at 9211 Forest Hill Ave. Suite 200 Richmond, VA 23235.
Richmond, VA – May 1, 2024 – Homeward – the planning agency for the Greater Richmond Continuum of Care (GRCoC), a network of homeless service providers that deliver coordinated and compassionate solutions to homelessness in the Richmond region – will host its annual Best Practices Conference on Friday, May 3, 2024 at The Westin Richmond hotel in Henrico County.
From experiencing homelessness himself to now helping others who are going through similar crises, Choice East brings invaluable empathy and insight to his work at Homeward.
The last week of February, Homeward hosted a series of learning opportunities in a Best Practices in Youth Services Summit. Over two days, GRCoC partners, YAB members, and TA support staff delved into the core competency topics of youth services, Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI), prioritizing joy for young people, and federal grant regulations.
Unsheltered Homelessness Continues to Rise as Housing Instability Remains a Top Regional Issue.
This post is part of a series that explores the ways in which the Richmond region addresses homelessness and provides context on how our collaborative and regional network operates. You can access other posts in this series on Access Versus Resources , Funding by The Numbers , and Keys to Helping More People .
This post is part of a series that explores the ways in which the Richmond region addresses homelessness and provides context on how our collaborative and regional network operates. You can access other posts in this series on Access Versus Resources , Funding by The Numbers , and Supporting Frontline Staff .
This post is part of a series that explores the ways in which the Richmond region addresses homelessness and provides context on how our collaborative and regional network operates. You can access other posts in this series on Access Versus Resources , Keys to Helping More People , and Supporting Frontline Staff .
This post is part of a series that explores the ways in which the Richmond region addresses homelessness and provides context on how our collaborative and regional network operates. You can access other posts in this series on Funding by The Numbers , Keys to Helping More People , and Supporting Frontline Staff.
Collecting reliable and consistent regional data about individuals and families experiencing homelessness is crucial in building an effective community-wide response.
On behalf of Homeward, we want to thank Mayor Levar Stoney, City Council President Michael Jones, Committee Chair and Councilmember Stephanie Lynch, all of the members of Richmond’s City Council, and the truly dedicated members of the City administration for making this significant and compassionate expansion of homeless assistance available. For 25 years, our community has come together across organizational and jurisdictional differences with a shared goal of reducing the crisis of homelessness.
Every donation counts.
Together, we can
end homelessness.
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Contact info
info@homewardva.org
If you are within 3 days of losing housing, call The Homeless Connection Line: 804-972-0831 . If you are more than 3 days away from losing housing, call The Housing Resource Line: 804-422-5061