Federal instability and local inefficiencies have hampered the U.S. Virgin Islands’ efforts to combat homelessness, lawmakers on the Senate Housing, Transportation and Telecommunications Committee heard Friday on St. Thomas.
Dan Derima, executive director of the nonprofit Meeting the Needs of Our Community and chair of the V.I. Continuum of Care Council on Homelessness, testified to the range of people who experience homelessness — drifters, veterans ineligible for services, and persons with mental disabilities, substance abuse disorders, unemployment, and other issues.
“This situation does not speak well of the territory and how they treat their own — the less fortunate constituents,” he said.
Catholic Charities Executive Director Andrea Shillingford added that homelessness “ is not just about those we see living on the streets.”
“It includes hidden populations struggling to find and maintain stable housing,” she said, like “couch surfers,” elderly people staying in shelters and hospital boarders.
A total of 304 unsheltered people were identified during the territory’s most recent Point-in-Time count, which the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department requires each Continuum of Care to conduct by assessing the number of people experiencing homelessness on a single day in January. There were 185 people counted on St. Thomas, 98 on St. Croix and 21 on St. John, representing a 52-person increase since 2023.
“It’s important to note that the PIT count does not account for individuals who are ‘couch surfing’ or temporarily staying with others, which means the actual number of people experiencing homelessness is likely higher,” Derima noted.
An inventory of beds conducted in 2023 identified 16 emergency shelter beds, 53 transitional housing beds and 23 permanent supportive housing beds. Derima said the lack of emergency shelters, the years-long waiting list for public housing, the absence of transitional housing for justice-involved individuals and few behavioral health or substance abuse treatment centers are causes for concern.
“Interaction and collaboration between government agencies is in crisis mode — not much is in place to address the issues at hand,” he said. “There is no protocol to follow, and partner agencies are not aware of what grant funding is available [or] know the assistance of qualifying factors.”
As the Continuum of Care’s collaborative applicant, the V.I. Housing Finance Authority is responsible for submitting grant applications to the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department and for managing the organization’s annual $35,000 planning grant funds. Derima said Friday that there have been “some challenges” securing those funds from the agency. Further, an expected HUD Technical Assistance grant was cancelled by the recently-established federal Department of Government Efficiency.
Shillingford noted that each year, it’s become “increasingly more difficult” to receive funding allocated to Catholic Charities by the Legislature.
“I know that here I speak for 95 percent of all the non-profits that depend on this Legislative funding,” she said.
Lawmakers also heard from VIHFA Executive Director Eugene Jones Jr., who acknowledged a crisis of affordable housing in the U.S. Virgin Islands fueled by high construction costs, rising insurance premiums, contractor shortages, workforce constraints, supply chain disruptions, increased property values, high living costs, and past natural disasters.
Sen. Marvin Blyden, who chairs the committee, lamented the backlog of unspent funds “going back to 2018.”
“We in 2025. Internal delays and bureaucracy hurdles have severely limited progress,” he said while grilling VIHFA representatives about their lack of reporting to the CoC. “I don’t think it’s that difficult to basically do what’s necessary based on the policies — you know, to just follow the policy, and it should not be a problem.”
Jones said the agency is going to strategize and that they should see results within the next 60 days.
The discussion followed testimony from V.I. Housing Authority leadership Friday morning, during which VIHA Executive Director Dwayne Alexander said DOGE’s proposed reforms to HUD could pose “significant challenges” to local housing authorities — including the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“The Virgin Islands 36th Legislature’s support will be crucial in ensuring that federal housing assistance remains stable and accessible for those who need it most,” he said.
