Nonprofit leaders weigh in on veterans’ village.
One of several new homes Fauquier Habitat for Humanity has built on Haiti Street as of 2023. Habitat for Humanity is one of the leading organizations working on the issue of affordable housing in Warrenton and Fauquier County.
Staff photo by Jill Palermo
When Charles Robinson addressed his fellow board members of Fauquier Habitat for Humanity on Oct. 24, the first thing on his mind was Warrenton Planning Commission’s recent denial of Hero’s Bridge Village.
“As a veteran, I found this appalling, quite frankly,” Robinson later told The Fauquier Times. “Hero’s Bridge is a project that we desperately need in this community.”
Getting the message — that affordable housing is hard to come by for many — access has been so difficult in Fauquier County that five local nonprofits have formed a coalition to advocate for more affordable housing development.
In September, representatives of Fauquier Habitat for Humanity, Community Housing Partners, Fauquier NAACP, Community Touch and the Mental Health Association of Fauquier County signed a memorandum of understanding to form The Fauquier Affordable Housing Coalition.
Whether or not Warrenton needs affordable housing for senior veterans will likely be at the center of debate, as the measure moves before the Warrenton Town Council in the coming months.
The council could still approve the pocket community at the corner of Church Street and Moser Road against the planning commission’s recommendation — but doing so would mean casting a vote against many residents who oppose the project and in favor of residents who are often overlooked due to their lack of home ownership.
Lack of affordable housing is a ballooning problem throughout the U.S., so much so that it has even become a key issue in the 2024 presidential race. In Warrenton, the problem is often hidden, as many who can’t find an apartment or afford their own home live in families’ basements or even motels.
While the coalition has not officially endorsed or advocated for the Hero’s Bridge Village project, the Fauquier Times spoke to leaders at three member organizations who support the proposal including Conway Porter, president of Fauquier County’s chapter of the NAACP.
“The NAACP is in favor of this project,” Porter said. “The cost of living and the home values are out of reach (for) a lot of residents.”
Porter said the lack of affordable housing is a “push factor” that is slowly changing Warrenton’s community as young people move away.
“People are working 2 to 3 part-time jobs just to make it,” Porter said. “If someone can live in the community they work in, it gives them stability.”
Staff writer Tate Hewitt can be reached at thewitt@fauquier.com.
Read the story on The Fauquier Times.