Bryan re-established Virgin Islands Interagency Council on Homelessness

Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. held an inaugural meeting on November 19, 2019, at Government House on St. Croix to re-establish the Virgin Islands Interagency Council on Homelessness.

The council was led by Human Services Commissioner Kimberley Causey-Gomez and Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority Executive Director Daryl Griffith. According to Government House, the council was intended to coordinate public- and private-sector efforts to prevent and end homelessness in the territory through policy and resource development.

Government House said the Virgin Islands Continuum of Care on Homelessness would work with the council to implement a territorial crisis response system. Continuum of Care data cited in the announcement showed about 200 chronically homeless people in the territory, defined as people living on the street for 12 consecutive months or experiencing four episodes of homelessness in three years.

The announcement said homeless subpopulations in the territory included adult domestic violence survivors, people living with HIV/AIDS, people with severe mental illness, and many people with chronic substance abuse issues.

Government House said the council's work would focus on increasing capacity to address homelessness and strengthen prevention practices, developing policies and procedures to support homeless services and the crisis response system, and sustaining data collection for prevention and assessment.

Workgroups created at the November 19, 2019 meeting included housing, prevention, data collection, access to mainstream services, financial support, and media planning.

Government House said council members represented the Office of the Governor, the Department of Human Services, the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority, the Legislature, the Department of Health, the Department of Labor, the Office of the Attorney General, Schneider Regional Medical Center, Juan F. Luis Hospital, the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, the Virgin Islands Police Department, the Bureau of Corrections, the Virgin Islands Fire Service, the Office of Veterans Affairs, the St. Croix and St. Thomas-St. John chambers of commerce, the Virgin Islands Continuum of Care Council, the University of the Virgin Islands, Frederiksted Health Care Inc., St. Thomas East End Medical Center, and St. Croix Mission Outreach Inc.

Official source: https://www.vi.gov/governor-bryan-re-establishes-virgin-islands-interagency-council-on-homelessness/