INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS –PUBLIC HEARING

Tuesday, March 25, 1-4 p.m.
NJ State Museum Auditorium
205 West State Street, Trenton, NJ

The New Jersey Coalition to End Homelessness urges advocates, service providers, and individuals affected by homelessness to testify at this important public hearing. In order for changes to occur in our state, the members of the Interagency Council need to hear about the real barriers faced by homeless individuals and those who provide services. Testimony is limited to three-minute statements with no questions. The Council is particularly interested in hearing views on two topics:
• Best practices in homeless services delivery and
• Impediments to the delivery of homeless services.

The hearing is held by Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Richard Constable and Department of Human Services (DHS) Commissioner Jennifer Velez. Several members of the NJCEH are members of the Council including Board President Alison Recca-Ryan, Trustee Connie Mercer, Advisory Board Member Kent Pipes, and former Trustee Julia Orlando.

Written remarks may be submitted via email at HomelessCouncil@dhs.state.nj.us or by mail to Homeless Council Public Testimony, NJ Department of Human Services, Office of the Commissioner, PO Box 700, Trenton, NJ 08625-0700.


Some excellent sample talking points for the hearing are listed at the website of Monarch Housing Associates, http://monarchhousing.org/2014/02/20/march-25th-hearing-to-end-homelessness/.

The Interagency Council on Homelessness was created by Governor Christie in April 2012 and is charged with better identifying and addressing the needs of homeless individuals in New Jersey and preparing a 10-year plan to end homelessness in New Jersey.

Thanks,

Deb Ellis

How to help the relocated from Tent City

Homelessness Ended through Local Partners

A Network of Ocean County Housing Advocates

Support Services for the Newly Housed

If you have recently left Tent City and moved into an apartment or motel, or will be leaving Tent City in the near future and need some help, please let us know.

Some of the things we can help you with for free are:

·       transportation for food shopping

·       transportation to job interviews, doctors/clinic appointments

·       transportation to Social Services, Social Security, and unemployment offices

·       help with filing for possible benefits from Social Services, Social Security, and unemployment

·       help with financial matters -- budgeting, checking accounts, paying bills, etc.

·       help with researching bus routes and providing bus schedules

·       provide list of food pantries and soup kitchens

·       furniture

·       encouragement to attend AA and NA meetings

If you need help with any of the above, or have other needs,  please call:

Stan Rosenthal                                            Paul Hulse

908-902-0769 (Call or text)                        386-315-0168 (call or text)

Email: SRosenthal1943@comcast.net      phnh09@yahoo.com

NJ Supreme Court gives COAH more time to propose rules, again

NJ Supreme Court issues order that vacates COAH appellate ruling, gives state until November to adopt new rules http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/coah/SCONJCOAHorder.pdf …

Be sure to read Justice Albin's dissent beginning on page 5.

My Din died in Tent City fire

Lakewood's Tent City resident killed in fire remembered as 'very friendly' culinary expert http://ow.ly/uDOsE

NJ Coalition to End Homelessness: Good news - the tents are coming down

Tents are coming down in the Lakewood Tent City -- and in a good way! As per the court orders with Lakewood obtained with the Coalition's support, all of the homeless residents who participated in the court-ordered census last April are now in the process of moving out of the cold woods and into apartments.  So far, more than 30 men and women who had to fight to survive in the woods are now warm indoors.  Their tents are only coming down when they are no longer needed.  The Coalition congratulates board member Jeff Wild for his dedicated efforts in securing this victory.

Here is a link to one of the many heartwarming stories of those who finally have a home of their own:

Kevin's Story

There is, however, much more work to be done. Even though Lakewood is now abiding by the law – providing housing for these unsheltered homeless - Ocean County is not. Ocean County must provide a safety net – an emergency housing center – for all the other homeless throughout Ocean County.  At the so-called “Special Response” Office of the Board of Social Services in Toms River, homeless men, women and children are still being turned away on a daily basis as “ineligible” for emergency shelter.   The Coalition has made addressing this unconscionable situation one of its top priorities for this year.  Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution towards the Coalition's remaining work using the link below.

Support the Coalition

Thanks!

Deb Ellis

This is the new date of the hearing that was postponed by weather last fall.

Hearing Scheduled for March 25th Advocates Share Talking Points

Advocates for efforts to End Homelessness in New Jersey have prepared sample talking points with strategies that should be considered in the statewide plan to end homelessness.

The talking points are offered to all who plan to testify at the Interagency Council on the Homeless hearing that will be held on Tuesday, March 25, 2014 at from 1 – 4 PM at the NJ State Museum Auditorium. Additional information regarding the public hearing will be sent out in the beginning of March.

The strategies include:
1. Adopt Housing First as a State Policy
2. Create a Rapid Re-Housing rate for boards of social services
3. Support Local Efforts to Create Centralized and/or Coordinated Assessment Systems
4. Set a priority for homelessness with the State Public Housing Agency (PHA) and encourage the same from local PHAs
5. Assist local Continuums of Care (CoC) in retooling transitional housing

The talking points also make recommendations that would address impediments to the delivery of services
 Ensure that all agencies receiving state contracts for service funding are required to serve the most difficult to house homeless and focus their resources on solutions that work, while encouraging well-designed innovations for continuous improvement Encourage all state agencies that receive funding to assist the homeless, including DHS and DCA, to coordinate funding for housing and homeless services.
 Require participation of local Boards of Social Services in Continuum of Care (CoC) homeless planning activities Coordinate with local CoCs and ensure that all grants for state funding for homeless activities require local CoC approval

Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Richard Constable and Department of Human Services (DHS) Commissioner Jennifer Velez will hold an Interagency Council on Homelessness public hearing on Tuesday, March 25, 2014 to hear from the public about how the State can best address the needs of homeless New Jerseyans.

The public hearing will be held from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the at the NJ State Museum Auditorium at 205 West State Street, Trenton.

The Council is particularly interested in hearing views on two topics: Best practices in homeless services delivery and Impediments to the delivery of homeless services.

Individuals planning to speak will be limited to 3 minutes and will be expected to focus on one or both of those topics. Written remarks may be submitted via: email at or mail to Homeless Council Public Testimony, NJ Department of Human Services, Office of the Commissioner, PO Box 700, Trenton, NJ 08625-0700.

If you are in need of an accommodation, please contact Jennifer Crowley at the NJ Department of Human Services at (609) 292-6090 no later than Wednesday, December 11, 2013.

Please note that the public hearing is an opportunity to provide your comments, only. It is not interactive.

NYT: "I'm homeless, not stupid"

Needing help is not the same as being helpless.
"I'm homeless, not stupid," says a resident of a Quixotic Village, a self-governing micro-housing settlement in Washington state.
Twenty-four men and women were moved into their own tiny apartments Christmas Eve, much like the houses advocated for by Ocean County's Destiny's Bridge the past three years.
The houses are small: 8 by 18 feet, 144 square feet. But providing a transitional house is the second step in moving people from homelessness to living in permanent housing.
"It's about providing homes for people who were in tents a month ago," said Garner Miller, an architect who helped create the new village's layout and living model.
Read the complete story in this New York Times article.