New from Jeff Wild, NJ Coalition to End Homelessness

Attorney Jeff Wild, defender of people living in Tent City and a trustee for the NJ Coalition to End Homelessness wrote the following:

On Wednesday night, with the bitter cold approaching, the City of Lakewood sent its police into Tent City and ordered the more than 80 homeless men and women shivering in the woods to shut down the wood-burning stoves they need to survive.  At least three residents were charged under Lakewood's latest municipal ordinance for the "crime" of being homeless and trying to survive.  Those charged included Monique G., who is six-months pregnant; her boyfried William B.; and even a senior citizen, 72-year-old Phyllis H.

However, with your support, we obtained an emergency Temporary Restraining Order on Friday afternoon prohibiting any effort by Lakewood to enforce the ordinance against the lawfully protected residents of Tent City until at least the next court hearing on December 6th.  Here are links to the TV story from NBC News and the newspaper story from the Asbury Park Press:

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/video/#!/on-air/as-seen-on/Tent-City-Eviction-in-New-Jersey/233147191

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013311220023

Just during our first year of work, the Coalition provided $108,370 in grants for Rapid Rehousing (securing immediate permanent housing for the homeless), $70,000 for Homeless Prevention (help with rent or utility arrears to prevent homelessness), $28,803 for Emergency Housing (for the most desperate individuals and families), and $200,000 for those homeless due to Hurricane Sandy. We are also becoming NJ’s leading voice in Trenton and elsewhere for the homeless and law reform to end homelessness.
Please join us now.

If you are homeless, there is no charge for you to click below and become a member of the Coalition. If you are lucky enough to have a home, please consider clicking on the link below and supporting the Coalition with a $50 annual membership.  Any business can support the homeless by becoming a member for $500 and any nonprofit can support the homeless with a $250 membership. Of course, all contributions are tax-deductible -- and every membership makes us stronger when we are there for NJ’s homeless:
https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E163318&id=3

Great news for Tent City residents

April 4, 2013

Today is a great day for the homeless of Tent City, and for all advocates for the homeless who have worked so hard, for so long.  The first attachment to this email is a letter that we just submitted to the Court, which encloses the final Consent Order relating to the litigation with Lakewood.  Among other things, this Consent Order:  (1) guarantees that all of Tent City’s current residents (including anyone who is living in Tent City and counted in a census that will soon be done) may not be ejected by Lakewood unless and until those residents are first offered a plan that provides for (and actually provides) safe and adequate housing for at least a full year; (2) gives this right -- without any “disqualifiers” or set deadline for the closing of Tent City -- to all of the current residents (at least those who cooperate in an agreed-upon census and screening process, which includes strict protections for privacy and confidentiality); and (3) requires Lakewood to dismiss all of the charges that it filed in municipal court and elsewhere about supposed “code violations” in Tent City.  In short, this Consent Order gives the people of Tent City everything they wanted, and more, given that a year or more of housing equates to the federal definition of permanent housing, not just emergency shelter.  And the news gets better.

The second attachment to this email is a letter agreement that supplements the Consent Order and imposes additional obligations on Lakewood until the last current resident has obtained housing.  Lakewood is now required to:  (1) provide pick-up of trash deposited for collection by Tent City’s residents (including regular and adequate collections by Lakewood from the trash containers and 30-yard dumpster); (2) permit the servicing of the portable toilets in Tent City; (3) allow supporters of the current residents to deliver food, clothing and other necessary supplies into Tent City (so long as any supporter’s vehicle departs from Tent City after the delivery has been completed); and (4) permit the holes in the main dirt road to be filled with dirt and leveled, in order to make the road passable for emergency vehicles (after receipt and approval by Lakewood of a written proposal for this work, which approval cannot be unreasonably withheld).  Lakewood has also agreed that Minister Steve Brigham has the option of continuing to live in Tent City until the day comes when all of the current residents have housing.  The Court will also retain jurisdiction to enforce the Consent Order and make sure Lakewood complies with all of its obligations.

Finally, after decades of refusing to do so, Ocean County and the Board of Social Services have agreed to sit down to discuss establishing the first housing center (shelter) in Ocean County.  As a show of good will, the Atlantic City Rescue Mission (the “Mission”) has dismissed its claims against the County “without prejudice,” meaning that the Mission is free to file suit again in the hopefully unlikely event that the discussions with the County about cooperation do not yield progress.  Given, however, the substantial new funding that is becoming available post-Sandy, the opportunities for cooperation seem greater than ever before.  The Mission will also welcome input from other non-profits about possible ways to develop a housing center in Ocean County.

This is a great day, but much work remains to be done.  We will continue to stand with the people of Tent City, and continue to work for the day when homelessness in Ocean County is no more.

(As soon as I figure out how to insert the attachments I'll post them for your reading pleasure.  Larry)

Tent City reprieve

From the NJ Coalition to End Homelessness:

This morning News 12 has reported that the Tent City in Lakewood, New Jersey would be demolished today.    Thanks to the attorney Jeff Wild, Esq., who represents the Tent City residents, the order has been overturned.

Nothing in Tent City will be demolished and no one will be fined any time soon!

Update on OC Homeless litigation

Attorney Jeff Wild reported Monday:

In the Ocean County Homeless Litigation, a court conference was held today before the Honorable Joseph L. Foster. Although the people of Tent City continue to manage well during the warm weather, it was great to hear Judge Foster express concern about the unsheltered homeless -- and the very real possibility that this winter will not be as mild as the last one. In other developments today:

1. Safety Issue.  Shortly after Lakewood failed in its motion for summary judgment, it blocked off one of the two roads to Tent City -- thereby blocking emergency vehicles from getting in and out of Tent City quickly if necessary. Today, we raised this safety issue with the Court, and Lakewood agreed to restore roads in and out of Tent City.
2. Waste of Taxpayer Money Revealed. Through mediation, we continue to discuss the problem of homelessness with the attorneys for Lakewood and Ocean County.  The scope of the problem, including the current waste of taxpayer dollars on motel rooms for the homeless, is staggering. We have learned that, just in 2011, more than $6.3 million of taxpayer dollars was wasted by Ocean County on tens of thousands of motel rooms and other "band-aid" solutions -- wasting money at a time when Ocean County is also turning away homeless men, women and children, leaving them with no choice but to sleep outside. Concrete proposals are expected to be made soon.  If no solution is reached in the mediation, the litigation will continue.
Thanks to all the members of the Coalition and the homeless who were in the courtroom today, standing in unity. Judge Foster set the next status conference for August 21st at 9 a.m. at the Superior Court in Toms River, Courtroom 3.

About NJCEH

The NJ Coalition to End Homelessness, based in Trenton, is dedicated to pursuing emergency and permanent solutions to homelessness throughout New Jersey, where tens of thousands of men, women and children are homeless each year.  NJCEH's Board of Trustees includes leaders from such prominent NJ organizations as the Corporation for Supportive Housing, the Atlantic City Rescue Mission, Homefront NJ,  the Bergen County Housing, Health and Human Services Center, United Way of Hudson County, R. B. Coe Development and Consulting, LLC, and Lowenstein Sandler PC.  For details, see http://app.expressemailmarketing.com/get.link?linkid=4040016&subscriberid=266902883&campaignid=1118672&linkurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.njcoalitionhomeless.org%2fOur_Board_of_Trustees.html or contact Tonya Bryan, Executive Director, at tbryan@njcoalitionhomeless.org.

Update on OC Homeless litigation

We continue to make progress in the litigation and, at the same time, remain keenly aware of the news -- some tragic, some inspiring -- that underscored the importance of the Coalition and its mission of ending homelessness.

On one hand, we were saddened to hear this week about Amador:  a homeless man in Lakewood who died in a fire in the tent where he was sleeping, trying to keep warm in the winter cold.  Contrary to some media reports, this tragedy did not occur in the Lakewood Tent City (Amador's tent was in another part of Lakewood, off Route 88), but this needless death is a poignant example of why everyone should have access to safe, indoor housing.

On the other hand, the nation was inspired by Samantha Garvey:  the Long Island teen who was living in a shelter when she made semifinalist in the Intel Science Talent Search and suddenly found herself invited to the State of the Union.  Samantha is another, living reminder that even the most talented and hard-working among us can find themselves homeless due to circumstances beyond their control.

With all of the homeless in mind, we move forward with (among other things) the Ocean County Homeless Litigation.  This week, the litigants selected a highly experienced mediator, Edward J. McKenna, Jr., with whom the parties will meet to try and reach a settlement to address the lack of any available shelter in Ocean County.  Until then, the litigation moves forward simultaneously. This week, we served the County with extensive discovery requests (document demands and interrogatories), so that we can continue to move forward towards trial if no settlement is reached.  Hopefully, Ocean County and Lakewood will choose cooperation over litigation.

Of course, the problem of homelessness goes far beyond Ocean County.  This week, as part of the "Point-In-Time" count conducted each January, homeless were counted in every single one of New Jersey's 21 counties.  Only a small fraction of New Jersey's homeless can be counted in a single night, and the actual number of homeless men, women and children is a large multiple of any "Point-In-Time" count.  However, as long as we have our Coalition, none of them is alone.

Profile of Jeff Wild in today's NJ.com (Jan. 20, 2012)

NJ.com had a profile about attorney Jeff Wild, who is representing the homeless in Tent City pro bono.  Here is the link .

"I give the homeless an open mind because I am the descendant of one," he said.

2 Asbury Park Press videos

The Asbury Park Press has posted two videos on its Web site.  The first is a 4-minute report about the beginnings of Tent City, the second is a report about yesterday's court hearing.  The two videos can be accessed by clicking here .  (If you cannot link directly copy and paste

http://www.app.com/videonetwork/1329754356001?odyssey=mod|tvideo|article into your Web browser.)

The second video will start within a few seconds after the first ends.

Thanks to the reporters and videographers for putting this together.

Lakewood motion to evict denied: Tent City residents are safe for now

Superior Court Judge Foster dismissed Lakewood’s motion to evict the homeless from Tent City on Cedar Bridge Road this morning. 

Spectators filled Courtroom 3.  About 60 people were in the court room and an addition dozen or more spilled into the hallway.  There were also several journalists representing television, radio, Internet and print.

So far the story has appeared on WOBM, Channel 12, the APP.com website, and Patch.  Link to the Asbury Park Press:  http://on.app.com/zZiOHL  .  Link to the Patch article: http://bit.ly/z5cyCA  .  Link to the WOBM story: http://bit.ly/wkMklc .

From my perspective:

Lakewood’s attorney tried to link the Tent City issue with the Occupy movement.  He also implied that the homeless were trying to take possession of the property but Judge Foster was not having any of that.

The judge said Tent City residents were trying to create a plan to provide better housing for themselves and were using Tent City as temporary step in that plan.

The judge also said there is a government responsibility to provide shelter and  he was not prepared to pursue that during today’s hearing.

Lakewood and Tent City both agree that it has taken too long to resolve the problem. 

"Enough," they both said at seperate times during the hearing.

Lakewood has felt people have been there too long, though when asked they were uncertain how long people lived there, said their attorney.  Jeff Wild said it has taken Lakewood and Ocean County too long to resolve the problem.

“What’s the remedy,” the judge asked?

“When Lakewood does what’s required,” replied Wild. “We also say enough.”

In denying Lakewood’s motion for an orderly eviction, Judge Foster added he wants to hold a hearing on the issue and told attorneys to contact his clerk to set up a time for that hearing.

There has already been movement by the parties to mediate the issue.  According to Wild the attorneys are searching for a mediator.

Jeff Wild: Victory for the homeless today in court

This morning, after studying the legal briefs and the sworn statements of the homeless, and after hearing oral argument from counsel, the Court denied Lakewood's motion for a court order allowing it to shut down Tent City.   Among other things, the Hon. Joseph L. Foster agreed with the homeless that in light of years of condoning Tent City -- including instances of Lakewood's police bringing homeless to Tent City -- Lakewood had not established its right to the summary judgment and court order it wanted today. Moreover, in rendering his decision and denying Lakewood's motion, the Court made an important statement:  that the government has a responsibility to the poor.  This, in one sentence, is the heart of our legal position.

Much still lies ahead in the litigation.  However, this ruling against Lakewood removes, at least for now, the sword that has been hanging over the heads of the community in Tent City.  Lakewood and Ocean County will now proceed with us to select and meet with a professional mediator to explore whether further litigation can be avoided.  If not, we stand ready to continue fighting for the homeless -- and, if necessary, take their claims against Lakewood and the County to trial, along with the claims of the Atlantic City Rescue Mission for approximately $2 million in money damages.  Hopefully, however, we can all work together to solve the underlying problem.  Either way, today was a great day for the homeless.

Attorney Jeff Wild speaks about homelessness on NJTV

Jeff Wild is interviewed on NJTV tonight (Tuesday) at 11 p.m.   He talks about the sad  homeless issue in NJ, etc.

Court date rescheduled

Jeff Wild writes:

We requested and obtained an additional two weeks to respond to Lakewood's motion.  Accordingly, the hearing on the motion is being moved to Friday, December 2 at 9 a.m.    The hearing will still occur in Judge Foster's courtroom at the Superior Court of New Jersey at 100 Hooper Avenue in Toms River.

Lakewood seeks to eject the homeless

As it threatened at the last status conference, Lakewood has filed a motion to shut down the Lakewood Tent City.  A copy of the motion papers is attached.  The hearing has been scheduled for Friday, November 18th at 9 a.m. at Judge Foster's courtroom at the Ocean County Courthouse, 100 Hooper Avenue, Courtroom 7, in Toms River.  Please mark your calendars and spread the word.  As many of us as possible should be at the November 18th hearing to show that we care about the residents of Tent City and all of Ocean County's homeless.  The date/time could change, and if so, we will let you know.  We will also be in touch about other ways that we can take action to help not only those in Tent City, but all of New Jersey's homeless.

Basically, Lakewood is arguing that even though they are members of the public with no place to sleep but the public woods, the homeless are "trespassers" whom Lakewood has the right to remove.  As stated in a footnote (on p. 1 of the legal brief), Lakewood "is not seeking the immediate ejectment" of the homeless -- but is seeking a court order "that no new persons are permitted to occupy the Property" and for "an orderly vacation of the Property by the Defendants" -- whatever that means.   This law firm will prepare papers to oppose the motion.  Stay tuned for further information.

 Jeffrey J. Wild Member of the Firm Lowenstein Sandler PC

Jeff Wild: report on Sept. 13 court hearing

There were a number of developments in court yesterday, some good but some not. Our support of the homeless is more important than ever:

1. Lakewood Tent City in Jeopardy. For more than a year, Lakewood abided by the Consent Order in the litigation; supported our efforts to get help from Ocean County; and did not pursue its request that the Court eject the homeless from the Lakewood Tent City. Under the Consent Order, Lakewood agreed to hold off on pursuing an ejectment of Tent City's residents while we worked to cooperate in solving the problem of homelessness by bringing the County into the case. But at the first conference yesterday before the newly assigned judge, the Hon. Joseph L. Foster, one of the attorneys for Lakewood announced, without explanation, that Lakewood now intends to pursue its request for ejectment. I have reached out for Lakewood's lead litigator and will see how, if at all, the Coalition can continue to work with Lakewood to address the underlying problem: that Tent City's residents have nowhere else to go. Let's give Lakewood the benefit of the doubt until our Coalition's efforts to cooperate with Lakewood are exhausted. But if Lakewood is not part of the solution, it is part of the problem.

2. Next Steps in Litigation. If and when Lakewood files papers to seek ejectment, we will respond with papers of our own and pursue all appropriate litigation defenses and affirmative claims against Lakewood. It will be at least several weeks before any hearing before Judge Foster on any ejectment motion that Lakewood files. The details of those papers could also be very important -- for example, whether Lakewood is seeking immediate ejectment of all of the residents without giving them any place to go, or whether Lakewood will ask Judge Foster to do something short of that (we think) unconscionable position. Also, in the good-news department, Judge Foster approved a schedule under which: (a) the Ocean County Board of Social Services will be providing us, by September 27th, with documents that we can use to amplify our claims against the County, such as details about how many people the County turns away and how much money the County wastes on expensive motel rooms; (b) we will file amended and expanded claims against the County by October 27th; and (c) the County and Lakewood were ordered to attend a combined settlement status conference and settlement conference on Tuesday, November 15th at 9 a.m.

3. How You Can Help

A. Next Court Date. If you are in the Toms River area, please stand side by side (literally) with the homeless at the next court date on November 15th at 9 a.m. The court conference will be at 100 Hooper Avenue (just north of Washington Street), Courtroom #3, in Toms River. I will also, of course, let you know when a hearing is scheduled on any motion that Lakewood files to shut down Tent City.

B. Formation of Statewide Coalition. Our grass-roots coalition in Ocean County has been great, and now seems like the time to take it to the next level: a statewide organization dedicated solely to fighting and ending homelessness in New Jersey. We need a coalition that can bring together the energy, skills and resources of all the people and organizations who care deeply about the tens of thousands who are homeless in NJ each year. I have spoken to some of you about a vision of forming the Coalition for the Homeless of New Jersey (the "Coalition"). I will be in touch soon with more details about the Coalition and ways that you might consider getting involved, including (but not limited to) donating your time, skills, funds and/or other resources, so that together we can keep making a difference in the lives of NJ's most desperate men, women and children.

Jeff Wild: Homeless case still alive in the courts

I am pleased to report that the litigation on behalf of Ocean County's homeless continues.  As you may recall, the County asked the judge to dismiss all claims by the homeless that they have a legal right to shelter under NJ law.

The judge denied the County's motion to dismiss our claim that there is a right to shelter under a NJ statute, the Poor Laws.  The judge also said that we should amend this claim within 45 days to add more specifics about the existing NJ statutes relating to homelessness and the legal standard that we contend the County has failed to meet.

The judge observed, correctly, that the NJ Supreme Court has never decided the question of whether there is a right to shelter under New Jersey's constitution.  Because of the absence of such a holding the NJ Supreme Court (at least so far), the judge granted the County's motion to dismiss our separate count based on the NJ Constitution.  However, the case continues past today based on the other counts (our statutory claim plus our claim for "recoupment" of any expenses that we prove were not paid by the County in violation of a legal duty.  We have ordered the transcript and will need to study the judge's rulings in more detail.

Given that the case is still addressing the affirmative claims by the homeless against the County, the judge has not yet reached  the defenses of the homeless to Lakewood's Complaint seeking to eject the homeless from the woods without any other place to go.  Thus, In the meantime, the homeless have not been ejected and the tent city is safe for now.

Finally. The turnout today was fabulous.  The courtroom was filled with homeless men, women and children, together with many members of our Coalition, including advocates for the homeless (non-attorneys and attorneys) and members of the clergy and local congregations of many faiths (including Christian and Jewish congregations), plus students and representatives of the media.  No one can predict what will happen as the litigation continues, but one thing is certain:  with a Coalition like ours supporting them, the homeless are not alone.

Thanks to everyone!

Jeff

Jeff interviewed on WCTC- NJ Today

From Connie Pascale:  Jeff clearly and compassionately describes homelessness as a human and moral problem that must be addressed in a human and moral way.  (Please note that the interview starts about a minute or so into the program.)

From Jeff Wild:

At the risk of e-mail duplication, I want to make sure you know that the Coalition's message is getting out there.  The interview about the litigation on behalf of the homeless begins at about 1 minute, 30 seconds into the attached audio file.  The litigation has also been reported on by other media, and NJN News is working on a TV news story that will include TV interviews with some of the currently homeless individuals the Coalition is working to help.

The interview: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B_ZPucMB9kBTYmEyZDI0YmUtMWFjOC00MGUxLWEwOGUtOTE1ZTY4NDM5MGFh&hl=en