Housing Forum attendees break into roundtable discussions for a more focused examination of homelessness issues.

HomeAid Northern Virginia's Annual Housing Forum is one of the region's most unique and valuable opportunities for meeting and learning from shelter partner colleagues, and last month, more than 60 representatives representing 40 organizations met to discuss veteran homelessness and the challenges and successes of the rapid re-housing model.

The morning was a study in contrasts: Attendees listened in near-total silence as Keynote Speaker Kerry Turner, a U.S. Army Captain and spokesperson for Final Salute, shared personal and often heartbreaking stories of homelessness among women veterans. Later, animated conversation reigned, as attendees broke into roundtable discussion groups to debate topics such as funding, cross-jurisdictional collaboration, and the differences between housing singles and families.

A panel discussion moderated by Karen Cleveland and featuring Blair Copeland, Carpenter's Shelter; Oliver Reid, New Hope Housing; Minerva Labrador, Northern Virginia Family Service; and Michele Porter-Will, Volunteers of America Chesapeake, also provided sound advice for establishing critically important relationships with landlords. The honest and open format of the panel, which included strategies for finding housing for those with a criminal background, led one attendee to remark, "I liked the panel format - and I liked that people didn't sugarcoat [the challenges]."

Overall, the Forum, themed "Creating Partnerships, Strengthening Communities that Keep the Homeless Housed," was overwhelmingly rated by attendees as valuable to very valuable, with one attendee commenting on one of the most important take-aways of any good conference - empowerment - when she said, "This forum allowed me to open up a conversation with my supervisor on better servicing my clients."

In a milestone moment for HomeAid, a reporter attended the Forum for the first time, writing a feature article for Centre View that explored the "war on homelessness" in a region with limited affordable housing.

	Three women have a beautiful new kitchen to prepare their meals, thanks to Christopher Companies and HomeAid.

For three women working to embrace their ongoing recovery from mental illness, having a stable home is critical to their ability to focus on their needs and futures. And now, thanks to an $11,000 project completed for Pathway Homes last month by HomeAid Northern Virginia, Builder Captain Christopher Companies, and seven trade partners, the women have a renovated and updated home in which to recover.

"Self worth and feeling good about life is easier when you know people care about you," said Anna Smith, director of development at Pathway Homes. "This home - with a totally updated kitchen and bathroom . . . 

When HomeAid Immediate Past President Brian Davidson and Program & Operations Manager Kristyn Burr toured a townhome owned by Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services, Inc., last month, they went with the intention of completing a site visit to assess the home for a future renovation project. What they found instead was a single mom - who had recently moved into the property - with four children ages three to 11, with virtually nothing more than the clothes on their backs.

Q: As a senior vice president in the banking industry, how did you first become involved with HomeAid?