#njcounts

All 21 New Jersey Communities Participate in NJCounts Count of the Homeless On Wednesday, January 23. 2019, networks of organizations, agencies and others that plan community efforts to end homelessness will conduct the NJCounts 2019 across New Jersey’s twenty-one counties. Volunteers will ask homeless shelter residents and those in un-sheltered locations where they spent the night of January 23, 2019. Monarch Housing Associates is coordinating NJCounts 2019. NJCounts is the annual statewide Point-in-Time count of individuals and families experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness in the New Jersey. The U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) mandates that local communities conduct a sheltered count each year. HUD will use the 2018 count for tracking efforts to end youth homelessness. New Jersey and local Continuums of Care (CoC) employ the annual count to obtain consistent data about the number of individuals and families experiencing homelessness and to better understand the causes of homelessness and their service and housing needs. NJCounts 2019 is designed to understand the nature of New Jersey’s homeless population so that limited housing and services resources can most appropriately meet its needs. NJ Counts 2018 Overall Results 9,303 homeless men, women and children were counted across the state of New Jersey on the night of the Point-in-Time Count. This was an overall increase of 771 persons, or 9%, compared to the 2017 count. 1,288 persons, in 1,211 households, were identified as chronically homeless, an increase of 196 persons, or 17.9%, compared to the 2017 count. 1,623 persons were counted as un-sheltered; an increase of 15% from the 1,415 persons counted in 2017. Racial disparities are evident in the population experiencing homelessness with persons identifying as Black or African American making up 48.1% of the total population counted as homeless and 24% of the state population living in poverty, and only 12.7% of the general state population. NJCounts Home Page NJCounts 2018 Executive Summary Best Practices to End Homelessness Policy Priorities Register for Congressional Reception Subscribe to Our Newsletter for News You Can Use Every Day Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter Delivered on Friday Read the full article

Human Interest Story Reminds Us that Some of the Over 9,300 People Experiencing Homelessness in NJ Truly Just Need Basic Necessities A recent human-interest story featured on New Jersey 101.5 reminds us about the human face of homelessness and the risk that individuals experiencing homelessness face living on the street. Many of us have been approached by individuals experiencing homelessness who tell us that they need money for food. Writes Megan, “Would you give a homeless person money? There are those who would have no problem doing so, and there are those who think the homeless person will just drink it or buy drugs. Personally, I think you should give whatever you can to a homeless person without fear of what they will do with it.” And Megan goes on to tell us why, in her opinion, we should consider giving money to individuals who tell us that they need money for food. When she called into NJ 101.5, she shared on the air that she has a family member who “struggles with housing and is sometimes homeless.” She lives in Bradley Beach, New Jersey. Perhaps that is why, when five years ago, when an individual experiencing homelessness approached her on New Year’s asking for money, she gave him the $5, the only money she had left with her that evening. “As Megan recalled, "Four years later, I'm walking out of a convenience store and I hear somebody say Miss Miss Miss." The homeless person from five years ago approached Megan and said "I will never forget your face ... because that one night you gave me five dollars. I hadn't eaten in 3 days, and that five dollars allowed me to get food in my system and have the strength to apply for a job the next day, and I've never had to go hungry since then." This story certainly dispels the myth that many people experiencing homelessness who panhandle for money may use that money to either buy alcohol or drugs. “Megan hopes that people begin to stop and do something that they wouldn't usually do, like offer money. As she says, "Because you do never know what's going to happen with it, but you can't always assume the negative." The news story points out that homelessness increased 9% in 2018. This number comes from NJCounts 2018, the annual point-in-time count of the homeless in New Jersey. Monarch Housing Associates coordinates NJCounts 2018. The survey found 9,303 men, women and children experiencing homelessness on the evening of January 23, 2018. NJ 101.5 Story NJCounts 2018 Follow us on Apple News Subscribe to Our Newsletter for News You Can Use Every Day Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter Delivered on Friday Read the full article

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