CASA volunteers of Mercer County find stabilizing a child's life very rewarding

MERCER—Thinking of all the children not able to sleep in their own beds used to keep Lori Morris from falling asleep in hers, so she joined an organization meant to fill in the cracks of the foster system to prevent more children from falling into them.


She’s not alone. While they represent a variety of occupations, ages, races and backgrounds, the volunteers of Mercer County Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA) program have a singular goal in mind: to help the helpless.

To read more click here.

11 Facts About Homeless Teens

For the complete story and other links click here.

1. There are approximately 1.7 million homeless teens in the U.S.
2. 39 percent of the homeless population is young people under 18.
3. About 75 percent of homeless teens use drugs or alcohol as a means to self-medicate to deal with the traumatic experiences and abuse they face.
4. 5,000 young people die every year because of assault, illness, or suicide while on the street.
5. A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study found that 46 percent of homeless youth left their home because of physical abuse. 17 percent left because of sexual abuse.
6. Approximately 40 percent of homeless teens identify as LGBT.
7. Over 50 percent of young people in shelters and on the streets report that their parents told them to leave or knew they were leaving and didn’t care.
8. The average age a teen becomes homeless is 14.7 years.
9. 1 in 7 young people between the ages of 10 and 18 will run away.
10. Teens age 12 to 17 are more likely to become homeless than adults.
11. HIV rates for homeless young people are 2 to 10 times higher than reported rates for other samples of adolescents in the U.S.

Children, poverty and homelessness

Here are links to two stories about children, poverty and homelessness here in the US.

There are 22,000 homeless children in New York--the most since the Great Depression. One of their stories: http://propub.ca/1cvWfsI

& among 35 developed countries, US is ranked 34th when it comes to child poverty: http://propub.ca/1cw7wcu @Max_Fisher pic.twitter.com/5lwuP0cWC6

Aren't these the same stories told over and over again, and still it seems like nothing gets done?  How long does this story go on till we solve it?  Check back on the blog for links to the 60 Minutes stories on children, poverty and homelessness.

Frontline: Map: Where is Childhood Homelessness Getting Worse?

From Frontline:

The number of homeless students in the United States reached a record high last year, according to new data from the Education Department showing that 1.2 million children had no place to call home.

Click here.

Homelessness in the news

Here are a couple of news items from the newspapers during the past couple of days:

Trenton Board of Education reports 226 of district's students are homeless http://ow.ly/2v7wf2 

Battle for Lakewood homeless camp moves to courthttp://on.app.com/W7z0QB

RT @asburyparkpress: Homeless advocates rally in Lakewoodhttp://njpm.co/13hW40P

'Homeless in Seaside Park' http://on.app.com/XTKYt5 

Garden State Topic: Lack of Housing for Young People Hits Home in NJ, Nationwide

This month the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released results of its 2012 “point in time” survey, for which local teams count all the homeless people to be found on one night in January.

In New Jersey, there were 13,025 people without permanent housing that night, including 2,695 severely mentally ill people and 592 veterans. More than 1,500 of them were found in Newark or elsewhere in Essex County.

Those totals don’t parse out all of the young people who have no place to go, the young adults who aged out of foster care without families, who got kicked out of their homes for being gay or pregnant, or who are couch-surfing because their parents can’t or won’t shelter them.

Counting homeless young people is a challenge in any season – for their own safety, young people with no place to go often don't want to be recognized and work hard to remain invisible. Pimps, muggers, and gangs quickly sniff out vulnerable young people, and those stories don't end well.

To read more click here.

Program targets homeless families across US

MIAMI (AP) -- Federal child welfare officials announced Wednesday they are expanding a pilot program that provides housing and case workers to homeless families most at risk for having a child enter foster care.

For more, read the AP story here

60 Minutes once more addresses homelessness

60 Minutes produced another story on homelessness, primarily amongst children.  They say 25% of the children inour country live in poverty.  Many are homeless.

Here is a link to 60 Minutes Overtime that disucsses how they assembled their report: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504803_162-57330017-10391709/a-reporters-story-finding-homeless-families/?tag=strip

Stronger together: Central Jersey Family Health Consortium

We are pleased to announce that the Central New Jersey Maternal and Child Health Consortium and The Regional Perinatal Consortium of Monmouth and Ocean Counties are now officially joined as one. The organizations' new name is the Central Jersey Family Health Consortium (CJFHC). Together, we will continue our work toward improving the health and well being of women, children and families in Central New Jersey through the collaborative efforts of member hospitals, health care providers, community organizations, governmental agencies, and consumers.
What does this mean for you?
• An ongoing commitment from CJFHC to provide culturally appropriate quality education and community based programs for healthcare providers and consumers throughout the region.
• A broader impact on women and families in Central New Jersey including Hunterdon, Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, and Somerset Counties.
• Greater support and resources available in the region.
The Central Jersey Family Health Consortium will maintain office locations in North Brunswick and Lakewood, with the same contact information for all staff until further notice. Additional information will follow in the coming months. To contact our offices, please see information below:

2 King Arthur Court, Suite B
North Brunswick, NJ 08902
P: (732) 937-5437 F: (732) 937-5540

Lakewood, NJ 08701
725 Airport Road, Suite 1C
P: (732) 363-5400 F: (732) 363-5554


Sincerely,
Margaret C. Fisher, MD
Chair, Board of Trustees

Robyn D'Oria, MA, RNC, APN
Executive Director

Report Analyzes Fed agencies that assist homeless

One year after the release of "Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to End Homelessness," the National Alliance to End Homelessness has released a report analyzing the success of the member federal agencies of the US Interagency Council on Homelessness in meeting Opening Door’s ambitious goals. The plan set the goals of ending chronic and veteran homelessness in five years; homelessness among families, children, and youth in ten years; and moving the country toward ending all homelessness.

The initial data suggest that instead of going down, homelessness in the country may have increased slightly during the first year of the Plan. While the Administration has clearly been active in implementing its Plan, results have not yet started to emerge. External factors such as the economy and the budget deficit, along with an emphasis on coordination and information strategies rather than more substantive housing, treatment, and jobs strategies, have hindered progress.

To read more and to share your opinion use this link:

http://wp.me/peqFK-1NY

Please share or forward this email.
Yours,

Richard W. Brown
Chief Executive Officer
Monarch Housing Associates
29 Alden Street
Suite 1B
Cranford, NJ 07016-2156
908-272-5363 ext. 225
908-382-6309 (Fax)
mailto:rbrown@monarchhousing.org

Homeless Children: 60 Minutes + Monarch Housing video

On March 7, 2011, we published The hard times generation about Scott Pelley of CBS’s 60 Minutes report on homeless students in Florida. The report made the case that some children, socializing and learning are being cruelly complicated by homelessness. The video has been updated. As we noted then, this also occurs in New Jersey and is unacceptable.

Unemployment continues to hover around nine percent and job creation is so slow, it'll be years before we get back the seven and a half million jobs lost in the Great Recession. American families have been falling out of the middle class in record numbers.

To read more and to watch the video click:

http://monarchhousing.org/2011/06/27/homeless-children-the-hard-times-generation/

Please share this email with colleagues, co-workers and friends.
Yours,

Richard W. Brown
Chief Executive Officer
Monarch Housing Associates
29 Alden Street
Suite 1B
Cranford, NJ 07016-2156
908-272-5363 ext. 225
908-382-6309 (Fax)
mailto:rbrown@monarchhousing.org

OC Freeholderes press release: Report focuses on children & families at risk of abuse

TOMS RIVER – The Ocean County Human Services Advisory Council and the Children's Inter Agency Coordinating Council recently completed a community needs assessment concerning children and families at risk of child abuse and neglect.
Public comment on the draft report is being accepted through May 19. The report can be accessed at http://www.co.ocean.nj.us/ocdhs/ciacc/DCF%20Needs%20Assessment.pdf .
Comments can be addressed to Jamie Hart, coordinator for the Ocean County Children's Inter Agency Coordinating Council by email at jhart@co.ocean.nj.us by calling her at 732-506-5374 or in writing at CN 2191, 1027 Hooper Ave., Building 2, Toms River, N.J. 08754-2191.
"Our advisory councils have worked diligently throughout this process," said Freeholder Gerry P. Little, who serves as liaison to the Ocean County Department of Human Services. "I want to recognize all of our volunteers and staff members in addition to the various other county advisory boards that participated in this effort. We work hard at identifying the needs of our children and families and then linking them with appropriate services that can help improve their quality of life."
The New Jersey Department of Children and Families requested the 21 counties to complete a community needs assessment concerning children and families at risk of child abuse and neglect.
According to the report's Executive Summary the county will use the document as the basis for advocacy related to service development, in the effort to meet the human services needs of children and families. Community based organizations are encouraged to reference the report and use the data compiled for future grant proposals and organizational strategic planning processes.
The report looks at eight different target areas including basic needs, behavioral health care, substance abuse treatment, services for youth preparing to leave the state Division of Youth and Family Services supervision, domestic violence services, early care and education, services for special needs youth and delinquency prevention.

Easter baskets available

If you know of anyone in Ocean County who needs an Easter basket, please have them contact me ASAP. My distribution will be on Wednesday, 4/20 for all who are registered. If you have any questions, please let me know. Thank you, Nancy McCorry Salvation Army Community Outreach Manager (732) 270-8393

HEARTH news

As a result of HEARTH, Continuums of Care will be able to use up to 10 percent of their funding to serve families with children and unaccompanied youth who are homeless because they are living unstably or meet the definitions of homelessness used by the Department of Education. We have reviewed the CIACC Collaboration model in Ocean County and believe it provides a collaborative model that can assist CoC's in ending family homelessness. Alan F. Ferraro, Training Instructor/Director McKinney-Vento Displaced Family Services for Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean wrote an overview of this model including a PowerPoint presentation. To read more and to access the PowerPoint and related resources use this link: http://monarchhousing.org/2011/04/11/ciacc-coc-collaboration/

HEARTH news

As a result of HEARTH, Continuums of Care will be able to use up to 10 percent of their funding to serve families with children and unaccompanied youth who are homeless because they are living unstably or meet the definitions of homelessness used by the Department of Education. We have reviewed the CIACC Collaboration model in Ocean County and believe it provides a collaborative model that can assist CoC's in ending family homelessness. Alan F. Ferraro, Training Instructor/Director McKinney-Vento Displaced Family Services for Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean wrote an overview of this model including a PowerPoint presentation. To read more and to access the PowerPoint and related resources use this link: http://monarchhousing.org/2011/04/11/ciacc-coc-collaboration/

60 Minutes report- Homeless Children in Florida

What price is America paying for homelessness?

60 Minutes presented a report on homeless children in Florida and it's now on You Tube.   This link will take you to the report http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVWdi-9098g&hd=1 

Watch as children talk about going to sleep with hunger gnawing at their belly.  Or the little girl who blames herself for her family's homelessness.

Our community service groups have the improvement of kids' lives as our goal.  Well, here's our chance.

The video report destroys your myths about the homeless, that sleazy characaterization one conjurres up that allows one to ignore them and look the other way.  They are us.  And but for one illness, one job loss, the grace of God - we are them.