The public is invited to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Katherine K. Hanley Family Shelter, Saturday, Aug. 4, at 11 a.m. The shelter is at 13000 Lee Highway in Fairfax, at the intersection of Route 29 and Meadow Estates Drive.
An integral part of Fairfax County’s plan to end homelessness, the new shelter will accommodate up to 20 families at a time. The building will be ready for occupancy in late August and will provide a safe, temporary home where families may receive the help they need to find permanent housing as quickly as possible.
Hanley, the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia and former chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, will be the keynote speaker at the ribbon-cutting. Also speaking will be current Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerry Connolly; Springfield District Supervisor Elaine McConnell; Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins; Linda Wimpey, chair of the Community Council on Homelessness; and Jewell Mikula, executive director of Shelter House Inc., the nonprofit organization which will operate the shelter.
The county building incorporates many “green building” features, including energy-efficient appliances and light fixtures, building materials with recycled content, water-saving plumbing fixtures, water-efficient landscaping, and extensive use of natural light.
And it's the first homeless shelter in the country to receive a Green Globes rating for its sound, energy and environmental- design practices and will be recognized by the Green Building Initiative for this distinction at a later time.
A reception will follow the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and the public may tour the shelter from noon to 2 p.m. However, parking will NOT be available at the shelter during the ribbon-cutting.
Attendees are asked to park in the front parking lot of the Pennino Building at 12011 Government Center Parkway. Shuttle buses will transport people to the site beginning at 10:15 a.m. and will return them to the Pennino Building after the ceremony.