ACTS History

Action in the Community Through Service of Prince William, Inc. (ACTS) is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization serving the residents of Greater Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park, Virginia. In 1969, thirteen local churches came together with the purpose of preventing and alleviating human suffering.

ACTS' founders began by addressing the most basic human needs of food and shelter. They established Prince William County's first food bank, set up a used furniture distribution system, and developed a homeless shelter in local churches. In 1969 Prince William had 111,000 residents, today it has 321,570. The County has grown by 49% since 1990, with an average annual growth rate of 3.02%, and projects to grow to over 416,000 by 2025. The poverty rate has risen to 5.4% (up from 3.2% in 1990). No longer a rural area, we now face the problems and challenges of a growing suburban community.

As the community has grown, the agency's mission and goals have expanded. Our revised mission statement has been revised to say: "ACTS is a community organization whose mission is to alleviate hunger, homelessness, and domestic violence, and help people achieve self-sufficiency in the Prince William Area." The majority of our programs are fee free to clients (except the court ordered anger management classes held through Turning Points - but, if cost is prohibitive, the fees may be waived at least in part depending on income levels), and eligibility is based on the HUD poverty guidelines. No one is turned away if need is determined. ACTS' now offers a diverse array of services to prevent and alleviate homelessness, domestic violence and help to allow individuals to achieve self-support and sufficiency.

No one is turned away if need is determined. ACTS' programs include:

• Emergency Assistance- This program distributes food through the and financial assistance for utilities, medicine, rent and cut-off notices (often working with area congregations and utility companies).
• Homeless Shelter - This program provides a 15 bed homeless shelter to men, women and children.
  
• Transitional Housing - This program is a two-year commitment by individuals/families that help those that are homeless become self-sufficient.
  
• Helpline - This is a 24-Hour crisis Hot Line that provides support, information and referrals. In addition, Helpline include Teleteen, a teen peer Hot Line and Phone-A-Friend, a "warm" line for latch key children and seniors link. Helpline is certified for suicide intervention by the American Association of Suicidology.
  
• Turning Points - The county's ONLY Domestic Violence prevention and intervention program. It includes two safe houses for women and children experiencing domestic violence. It also assists with parenting, court advocacy, counseling services for victims and for batterers. Turning Points is accredited by the alliance.
  
• Thrift Stores - This program maintains two Thrift Stores (Dumfries and Woodbridge) that provide a source of low cost items for purchase by the community to serve as a source of income for the ACTS programs. Many items that are donated to the Thrift Store are given to families in need at no cost.

The Executive Director manages six Program Directors who together supervise the efforts of more than 80 paid staff members and more than 1,900 volunteers. A membership organization, ACTS derives income and services from individuals as well as churches, businesses, and other community groups. In addition, it has secured grant money and support from private foundations and government agencies. A United Way Member Agency, ACTS' overhead is less than 7% one of the lowest of all the United Way Agencies in the National Capital Area.