Homeless Prevention Program
Serving the cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach, this program is designed to prevent persons from becoming homeless and to return homeless individuals and families to permanent housing.  The emphasis is on prevention, intervening at an early stage and developing a plan for future stability. This is NOT an emergency financial assistance program and normally takes 2 – 4 weeks to complete documentation and approval for eligible clients.

To be eligible:

• Clients must be experiencing a temporary and unavoidable crisis that can be confirmed. 
• Clients must also be earning enough money to cover household expenses and need only short-term assistance to obtain permanent housing or to prevent an eviction.
• Clients must demonstrate past self-sufficiency and future self-sufficiency.
• Participation in financial counseling and taking steps to reduce your debt is expected of each client.

People residing in one of the above cities and facing eviction or foreclosure due to an unavoidable crisis may be eligible for the program. Homeless clients are also eligible if their income will allow them to be self-sufficient. Clients accepted into the program receive assistance with:

• rent or mortgage
• rent and utility deposits
• financial counseling
• self-sufficiency planning

To inquire about eligibility into the Homeless Prevention Program, a referral form may be completed by any homeless assistance agency in the cities we serve, or you may download the Application form here for the PDF or here for the Word format.  This form should be completed and returned by email to: homelessprevention@theplanningcouncil.org or by fax to (757) 622-4223.
To review lists of affordable housing across Virginia, visit: www.virginiahousingsearch.com