In late December, a group of about 70 people gathered around a potted tree in the courtyard of the Housing Resource Center in Virginia Beach on one of the longest nights of the year.
At the base of the tree were names painted on stones memorializing people who died in the city while homeless.
There were about 180 names in the courtyard, read out as part of the memorial service. That night, eight more were added: Leroy Blessington, Richard Edwards, Matthew King, Kimberly May, Pattie Meeker, Matthew Pine, Andre Wilson and Dan Wilson.
The memorial service is held every year on or near the first day of winter. Pamela Shine, Homeless Services Division Administrator, wants to get to the point where no new names are added to the memorial.
“Tonight has always been a rally, a clarion call that there’s a lot more work to be done,” she said.
“We want to have these events where we’re just honoring the people who have passed away in previous years. But moving forward, we want those names to be reduced every single year to where no one is dying while experiencing homelessness on the street.”
According to a 2024 Point in Time report, which gives a snapshot of homelessness in the city, there were 311 people without homes in Virginia Beach. The 2024 Point in Time survey was conducted in January last year. A new survey for 2025 will be conducted later this month.
Looking ahead to the new year, Shine said there are several strategic goals the city has adopted to help people experiencing homelessness.
One barrier to accessing shelter for some people is not being able to bring their pets with them, Shine said. The Housing Resource Center is working to partner with pet organizations to help foster animals.
The Housing Resource Center is also working to find storage solutions for people who have a lot of possessions — for example, in encampments — they don’t want to leave behind. Otherwise, they’re faced with a choice between shelter or the things that belong to them.
Shine said another goal is increasing the number of housing providers with access to state and federal funds committed to ending homelessness in the city.
Above all, though, is the need for affordable housing, Shine said.
A lack of affordable housing is the main driver of homelessness, she said, and has propelled an “alarming trend” in seniors over 55 experiencing homelessness. Four of the eight people who died in 2024 were over 55.
According to a 2024 housing study, households with low incomes and high housing costs are at risk of homelessness if there’s an emergency or loss of income. About 19,000 households in Virginia Beach, or 10%, were considered at risk.
About one in three households in Virginia Beach are cost-burdened, or pay more than one-third of their income on housing expenses. Seniors over 75 are the most cost-burdened group in the city.
“For folks experiencing homelessness, (affordable housing) is a big deal because they cannot generate the income that’s needed to live here in our city,” Shine said. “They’re squeezed out.”
In the short term, the Housing Resource Center provides shelter with 87 beds, as well as day services such as meals, laundry, showers and case management to help people find permanent housing.
A winter shelter provides 70 additional beds and meals at rotating churches from November through March.
Shine said the winter shelter has never been filled to capacity this season — which is a positive indication that fewer people are in need of the service.
The Housing Resource Center is supposed to be a warm environment, Shine said — not an institutional place of rules, but a space that people can use and where they can feel welcome.
A crowd gathered outside the resource center the night of the memorial service reflected that convivial atmosphere. People spending the night there took advantage of the unseasonably warm night, smoking and talking on the sidewalk.
Crystal Bailey, who works providing day services at the resource center, waved and said good night as she left the memorial service.
“Have a safe drive home,” one man called out to her.
“I’m already home,” he added.
