Toms River Patch reported the First Assembly of God Church, Toms River, has withdrawn it application to open a transition housing unit that would provide shelter to between 40 and 50 men and women.
During an open meeting with people in the neighborhood it became clear from the article they did not support placing the shelter, called a Lodge, anywhere around them.
Here is the link to the article:
Friday, February 24, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
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.
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.
Family Promise of Southern Ocean County makes a difference
THANKS THANKS THANKS!!!
First Presbyterian Church Tuckerton for hosting this week
Maris Stella for hosting last week
First UMC and The Church of the Holy Spirit for their assistance two weeks ago
Welcome-
This brings us up to 12 Current Host Sites!!! Not all sites are on our calendar as of yet but will be getting many of the dates added to the calendar.
Needs:
First Presbyterian Church Tuckerton for hosting this week
Maris Stella for hosting last week
First UMC and The Church of the Holy Spirit for their assistance two weeks ago
Welcome-
- To our new coordinator Jackie Dunbar from Lacey United Methodist Church- they will be hosting on 2/19
- To Great Bay Gospel Fellowship for joining our network and for brining a team of volunteers to be trained last week. they will be hosting for the first time 2/26.
- To Jersey Shore Council, BSA, Joseph A. Citta Scout Reservation at Brookville on becoming a host site for us. we are looking for a coordinator for that site. we also are looking for scouts to assist during that week and would like to set up trainings for the group. please contact Cheryl Polo for more information.
This brings us up to 12 Current Host Sites!!! Not all sites are on our calendar as of yet but will be getting many of the dates added to the calendar.
Needs:
- Gift cards for local stores for work and personal supplies for guests
- financial counselor to offer assistance to guests
- job leads for Gabe in auto field and Mandy in local store or office
- If anyone has any connections to offer discount or reduced assistance for child care
A note from Family Promise national organization
A NOTE FROM THE NATIONAL PRESIDENT OF FAMILY PROMISE
Dear Affiliate Leader,
Thank you all for the work you do to help children and their families leave homelessness and realize the promise they truly have. I wanted to share with you my thoughts at the beginning of the 24th year of Family Promise as a national organization.
2011 was a year of remarkable achievement for Family Promise. We added 14 new affiliates—Indiana, PA accepted their first family just before Christmas—bringing our total to 174 nationwide. We held a wonderful Conference in Salt Lake City and have already begun planning our 12th National Conference, to be held May 3-5, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. And we rolled out nearly a dozen new initiatives that help affiliates continue to grow (see attached list).
In the year ahead, we will pursue more national partnerships like The Company Store, which has pledged 15,000 comforters to affiliates. And we will continue to develop new tools like FPForce, Family Promise’s customized relational database designed to meet the unique needs of affiliates. Twenty-nine affiliates have already adopted FPForce with another ten poised to come on line. The Program Directory—cataloging the hundreds of amazing and innovative programs affiliates have created—will be coming out soon. And we will launch DonorDrive, a state-of-the-art online fundraising program to help you increase your event giving significantly.
I’m also pleased to report that nearly 70% of our affiliates nationwide are now operating as Family Promise or are in the process of changing their name to Family Promise. Continuing to strengthen the Family Promise brand will allow us to compete nationally for finite corporate and foundational resources in these demanding times.
On the local level, if you are not already taking an active part in your Continuum of Care (CoC), I strongly urge you to do so. Federal funding priorities have shifted towards rapid re-housing and the CoCs have become increasingly central to planning efforts of communities seeking to access HUD funding. As CoCs will be administering federal, state and local funding for homeless services, it is imperative for affiliates to play a vital role in their Continuums.
The past year was tough for just about everyone—the families we serve, our volunteers, our affiliates and the National office. However, we continue to draw strength from one basic truth. The existence of Family Promise makes a profound difference, not only in the lives of tens of thousands of children and parents who are served by you, our affiliates, but also to the 150,000 volunteers and 5,500 congregations who find our mission a transformative outreach.
It is my honor and pleasure to work with all of you. Please continue to share your ideas, questions and challenges. Continue to strengthen lives and build community.
All the very best,
Karen
Dear Affiliate Leader,
Thank you all for the work you do to help children and their families leave homelessness and realize the promise they truly have. I wanted to share with you my thoughts at the beginning of the 24th year of Family Promise as a national organization.
2011 was a year of remarkable achievement for Family Promise. We added 14 new affiliates—Indiana, PA accepted their first family just before Christmas—bringing our total to 174 nationwide. We held a wonderful Conference in Salt Lake City and have already begun planning our 12th National Conference, to be held May 3-5, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. And we rolled out nearly a dozen new initiatives that help affiliates continue to grow (see attached list).
In the year ahead, we will pursue more national partnerships like The Company Store, which has pledged 15,000 comforters to affiliates. And we will continue to develop new tools like FPForce, Family Promise’s customized relational database designed to meet the unique needs of affiliates. Twenty-nine affiliates have already adopted FPForce with another ten poised to come on line. The Program Directory—cataloging the hundreds of amazing and innovative programs affiliates have created—will be coming out soon. And we will launch DonorDrive, a state-of-the-art online fundraising program to help you increase your event giving significantly.
I’m also pleased to report that nearly 70% of our affiliates nationwide are now operating as Family Promise or are in the process of changing their name to Family Promise. Continuing to strengthen the Family Promise brand will allow us to compete nationally for finite corporate and foundational resources in these demanding times.
On the local level, if you are not already taking an active part in your Continuum of Care (CoC), I strongly urge you to do so. Federal funding priorities have shifted towards rapid re-housing and the CoCs have become increasingly central to planning efforts of communities seeking to access HUD funding. As CoCs will be administering federal, state and local funding for homeless services, it is imperative for affiliates to play a vital role in their Continuums.
The past year was tough for just about everyone—the families we serve, our volunteers, our affiliates and the National office. However, we continue to draw strength from one basic truth. The existence of Family Promise makes a profound difference, not only in the lives of tens of thousands of children and parents who are served by you, our affiliates, but also to the 150,000 volunteers and 5,500 congregations who find our mission a transformative outreach.
It is my honor and pleasure to work with all of you. Please continue to share your ideas, questions and challenges. Continue to strengthen lives and build community.
All the very best,
Karen
Family Promise of Southern Ocean County intake rules
INTAKE FOR NEW FAMILIES
We are gathering potential families for our program. They can make application by contacting Cheryl at Family Promise of SOC
338 South Main Street, Barnegat, NJ 08005, 609-994-3317 or by replying to this email. Here are the criteria for families:
· Adult parent must have at least 1 child under the age of 18
· Does not have a permanent place to live
· Has own car or the ability to secure transportation within short period of time while in program
· Is currently employed or able to secure employment prior to entrance into the program
· Has no current issues with drugs and alcohol
· Has no untreated health issues
· Must complete all intake requirements
· Is willing and able to accept all Program Guidelines
· Program is limited to 14 people
PLEASE CONSIDER FORWARDING THIS EMAIL TO OTHERS YOU KNOW ARE INTERESTED IN OUR PROJECT!
We are gathering potential families for our program. They can make application by contacting Cheryl at Family Promise of SOC
338 South Main Street, Barnegat, NJ 08005, 609-994-3317 or by replying to this email. Here are the criteria for families:
· Adult parent must have at least 1 child under the age of 18
· Does not have a permanent place to live
· Has own car or the ability to secure transportation within short period of time while in program
· Is currently employed or able to secure employment prior to entrance into the program
· Has no current issues with drugs and alcohol
· Has no untreated health issues
· Must complete all intake requirements
· Is willing and able to accept all Program Guidelines
· Program is limited to 14 people
PLEASE CONSIDER FORWARDING THIS EMAIL TO OTHERS YOU KNOW ARE INTERESTED IN OUR PROJECT!
GAO on homelessness
What GAO Found
Definitional differences of homelessness have posed challenges to providing services for children and youth. Children and youth living in precarious situations, such as living with others or in hotels, historically were excluded from receiving government-funded services. Congress enacted the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2009 (HEARTH Act), which broadened the general definition of homelessness and provided greater statutory specificity concerning those who should be considered homeless. In November 2011, HUD issued a final rule on the definition of homelessness, adding a new category of homelessness––unaccompanied youth, and families with children and youth who are defined as homeless under other federal statutes. The HEARTH Act and HUD’s recent definition changes may alleviate some challenges previously faced by children and youth in accessing services, but not enough time has passed to assess the impact of those changes. Some children and youth who previously were not considered homeless by HUD will now qualify as homeless. However, the broadening of the definition does not mean that everyone who meets the new definition would be entitled to benefits in all homeless assistance programs, and constraints on resources will likely continue to restrict access for some children and youths.
As of December 2011, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (Interagency Council) and federal agencies had taken steps to develop a common vocabulary for discussing homelessness and related terms, as GAO recommended in its June 2010 report. In January 2011, the Interagency Council convened a meeting of experts to discuss the development of a common vocabulary and the extent to which differences in definitions create barriers to accessing services. The Interagency Council issued a report to Congress in June 2011 that summarized the feedback received during the meeting. The report notes that a common vocabulary would allow federal agencies to better measure the scope and dimensions of homelessness, and may ease program implementation and coordination. As of December 2011, Interagency Council staff told GAO that they held three meetings––in August, September, and October 2011––to discuss implementation of a common vocabulary and data standard with key federal agencies such as HUD; the Departments of Commerce, Education, Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and Veterans Affairs (VA); and the Social Security Administration. The Interagency Council also noted that individual federal agencies have taken some positive steps to create this common data standard and improve coordination across agencies. For example, HHS and VA have been working with HUD to plan the potential transition of some of their programs to HUD’s data system (Homelessness Management Information Systems). As GAO has reported in the past, a common vocabulary would allow agencies to collect consistent data that agencies could compile to better understand the nature of homelessness, and it would allow agencies to communicate and collaborate more effectively.
Why GAO Did This Study
According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) estimates of shelter use, the number of homeless families increased by 20 percent from 2007 to 2010 and families currently represent a much larger percentage of the shelter population than ever before. Multiple federal agencies administer programs designed to address the needs of children and youths experiencing homelessness, but some programs use different definitions of homelessness to determine eligibility. The definitions range from people living in emergency or transitional shelters or on the street to those living with others because of economic hardship or living in motels or campgrounds because they lack other adequate alternative accommodations.
This testimony discusses differences in the federal definitions of “homelessness” and other factors that may influence the effectiveness of programs serving persons experiencing homelessness, including children and youth. In completing this statement, GAO reviewed and updated, as appropriate, its June 2010 report, Homelessness: A Common Vocabulary Could Help Agencies Collaborate and Collect More Consistent Data (GAO-10-702). In that report, GAO recommended that federal agencies develop a common vocabulary for homelessness and determine whether it would be cost-effective to use this common vocabulary to develop and implement guidance for collecting consistent federal data on housing status. The agencies agreed with our recommendations. This statement also discusses the progress federal agencies have made in implementing these recommendations.
Tom Cornell to speak on the Spirituality of the Catholic Worker Movement
While the ‘Occupy’ movement has received much press in recent months, it is but the most recent example of public protest in support of a just cause, according to author, teacher, and peace activist Tom Cornell.
Tom Cornell, life-long Catholic Worker and veteran of peace and civil rights movements, will speak on the Spirituality of the Catholic Worker Movement during a special program at the Little Theatre in the Arts & Sciences Building of Georgian Court University, 900 Lakewood Avenue, Lakewood Tuesday February 28 at 7 p.m.
Started at the height of the Great Depression on the streets of New York City, the Catholic Worker movement began by offering bread and coffee to the poor but shortly evolved into a diverse movement of solidarity with the poor, and peace and justice activism.
Co-founder Dorothy Day, reflecting on the lowly beginnings of the Catholic Worker, wrote “It all happened while we were sitting there talking, and it is still going on.”
Tom’s involvement with the movement began in the late 1950s. His experiences included peace assignments to fourteen countries on three continents, editor of The Catholic Worker (the newspaper of the NYC Catholic Worker) and co-director of a Catholic Worker House of Hospitality for the homeless in Waterbury CT.
This program is hosted by the Sociology Department of Georgian Court University and sponsored by the Jersey Shore Catholic Worker.
Article by Pam Quatse
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)