It was a warm Thanksgiving day at Sheltercare, a short-term group home that provides services to youth in Alexandria’s West End.
Five out of the nine resident kids there didn’t go home Thursday. Instead, they stayed in to watch football, sing karaoke and cook a delicious meal and desserts.
Gathered together for a meal, they feasted on chicken wings, ham, mashed potatoes, sweet corn and macaroni and cheese, followed by homemade cookies and apple and pumpkin pies. They also shared what they were thankful for.
“I’m thankful for my family and the staff here,” one resident said.
“I’m thankful for my life,” said another.
“I’m thankful for God, my family and the staff here.”
“I’m thankful for Mr. Robinson.”
This is the second year in a row that Christopher Robinson, a senior counselor, has been at the shelter during the Thanksgiving holiday.
“I’m here today to give them a piece of warmth — family that they can’t experience right now,” Robinson said. “So, me being a solid figure coming in, giving consistency through and throughout, it shows them that they at least have somebody. I’m filling that void for today and giving them hope for tomorrow, because today will eventually go away.”
Sheltercare residents are between the ages of 13 and 17 and can stay for up to 89 days at a time, per the Juvenile Detention Commission of Northern Virginia.
The kids’ Thanksgiving day started at around 7 a.m., which is an hour later than when they normally wake up for school. Robinson made pancakes with turkey sausage, divided the kids into groups for programming and met with parents who had a day pass to take their kids home.
The 14-bed facility is located next door to the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center and staffed 24/7. It has recreation space and classrooms, a dining room and kitchen, an intake office and small bedrooms separated for boys and girls.
Director Annie Reiney organizes diverse programming for kids throughout the week. On Mondays after school, there’s workout class and art therapy. On Tuesdays, kids can receive tutoring and academic support. The facility adopted nearby Stevenson Park, where the kids do environmental cleanups on Wednesdays. Thursdays offer a CrossFit workout with a local gym, and Fridays are devoted to a fun activity.
“Some of our kids come in off the street, homeless, in trouble, going through withdrawals, skinny, malnourished — and they leave happy and healthy,” Reiney said. “Sometimes, this is the first time they get to be a kid. At home, they might be providing for their family or taking care of a sibling.”
“In here, though, the kids, they go to laser tag, they go to Sky Zone, they get to be a kid,” she added.
Alexandria pays for a majority of the center’s funding, with a small amount coming in from Arlington County and the state. As the facility director since 2023, Reiney has helped procure incremental budget increases each year to fix the aging facility. Last year, she secured funding to make an ADA-compliant stairwell.
This year, she’s asking for a 40% increase in funding, $2.7 million, mostly to pay for extra staffing and building improvements. The Juvenile Detention Commission of Northern Virginia is looking to approve its budget next month to send to Alexandria for inclusion in the city’s annual budget.
The two-story shelter was initially supposed to be a temporary facility, Reiney said. Today, kids have nicknamed it “Nancy’s place.”
Nancy, Reiney said, is the name of a quirky older lady.
“It’s a quirky old house, but it’s theirs,” Reiney said. “These kids are the future of Alexandria. These kids come to us with 1,000 different things, and we meet them right where they’re at. Are we able to reach every kid that we could? No, but we’re trying to reach the kids we have.”
During Thanksgiving, Commission Chair John Lawrence told ALXnow it’s important for kids in Sheltercare to “experience a holiday, just like any kid.”
“They really call it ‘Nancy’s house’ because they don’t like the word ‘shelter,'” Lawrence said. “It’s a place to go to and get taken care of and be part of a family and live like a kid.”
