This report describes the status of the State Managed Shelter program and summarizes other VDSS supported work to improve shelter capabilities and increase overall readiness throughout the Commonwealth.

The State Managed Shelter (SMS) Program has the capacity to shelter 5,833 people and 1,949 pets across 26 facilities at 13 pre-identified sites at various Institutes of Higher Education (IHE). During the annual Virtual Activation and Rostering Exercise (VAREX), partner state agencies and VDSS demonstrated adequate staffing for three sites (Virginia Tech, Longwood University, and Virginia State University) providing shelter for 1,405 evacuees and 833 pets. The 2020 SMS plan was separated into a base plan with various annexes. This year, these separate parts were combined into one complete plan. Each IHE has their own site-specific addendum that was updated this year as well. VDSS continues to expand and train the Emergency Workforce (EW), supplementing staffing capabilities with the Adjunct Emergency Workforce (AEW).

VDSS has also made efforts to increase overall readiness throughout the Commonwealth by gathering a workgroup to begin identifying alternative “just-in-time" shelter sites, supporting the creation of a Commonwealth-wide Shelter Strategy, and advocating for the development of an interoperable shelter registration system.