How many homeless people are there in Hudson County on a given day?
Three years ago, a group of officials and volunteers found nearly 3,000 people outside and in shelters, but last year, on a much colder day, they found 1,044.
They will do the census – which provides data for funding and programs for the poor – again this Jan. 29.
The survey will also reveal the number of people who say they want mental health services, addiction services, or other treatment.
The Hudson County Alliance to End Homelessness is in charge of the annual Point-In-Time Homeless Survey, or Point-In-Time Count. The (HCAEH) is a coalition of representatives from local government, the non-profit community, and the business sector.
Since September of 2006, that group has also been working on a 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness in Hudson County.
The 10-year plan was unveiled last fall and approved by the Hudson County Board of Freeholders, Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise, and Jersey City’s City Council in November.
A “chronically homeless” person is a homeless individual who, due to mental illness or addiction, has either been continuously homeless for a year or more, or has had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years.The count
The 24-hour count, which will cover various areas in Hudson County where the homeless take shelter or gather, is carried out by giving homeless individuals a survey.
The survey asks about their situation and what they need. From this, the county government can create a database on the number and needs of Hudson County homeless.
The count on Jan. 29 will take place during two shifts, when volunteers will go into the streets with local social service providers to find and survey the homeless. Last year, the count on Jan. 25, 2007 found 822 adults and 222 children, for a total of 1,044 people.
But those numbers are considered a severe undercount, as the census took place on a bitterly cold night. The true number may be closer to the amount of homeless found during a 24-hour countywide count of 2,973 done in April 2006.
Taking place on the same day as the count will be Project Homeless Connect (PHC), a one-day, one-stop event where various sectors of the Hudson County community will make food, clothing, and various services available to the homeless.
That event will take place at Grace Church Van Vorst at 39 Erie St. in Jersey City from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Serving the homeless
Hudson County has a population of over 620,000 people, but there are only three homeless shelters in the county: St. Lucy’s Shelter in Jersey City, the Hoboken Homeless Shelter in Hoboken, and the PERC shelter in Union City.
There are, however, a number of organizations that provide various services such as food and behavioral services to the homeless in Hudson County; among them are WomenRising, the Jersey City Episcopal Community Development Corp., the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Newark, Saint Joseph’s Home, the Doe Fund, the House of Faith, North Hudson Community Action Corporation, and the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. There are also food banks in several towns to help the poor. Some counts are federally mandated
The Point-In-Time count has been a federally mandated biannual action carried out by the county since 2005, with the information submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the agency to determine how much money should be allotted for various counties and municipalities across the country.
This year’s count will not be mandatory, but was ordered by the county to determine the current number of homeless persons.
In December, various Hudson County homeless groups received more than $4 million in federal Continuum in Care grants to fund permanent and transitional housing to homeless persons, as well as services including job training, health care, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, and child care.
Also, Jersey City, Bayonne, and Hudson County received Emergency Shelter grants totaling nearly $550,000. Emergency Shelter grants are for the operation of local shelters and related homeless prevention programs. A long range plan
Helping to organize this year’s count and the Project Homeless Connect event is Susan Milan, director of Supportive Housing and Social Services for the Jersey City Episcopal Community Development Corporation.
“We are fortunate that there has been more community involvement this year, with a lot of schools and different organizations doing coat and food drives for us,” Milan said. “We will have a lot to offer for the homeless consumers who will be coming in.”
Milan also said the county’s 10-year plan, entitled “Keys to Ending Homelessness in Hudson County,” will be presented at the PHC with local and county officials gathering to hear the presentation.
Also scheduled to appear at the presentation is Philip Mangano, Executive Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, which oversees all the federal government’s activities and programs to assist homeless people.
Also planning to be at the PHC for the presentation is Daniel Altilio of the United Way of Hudson County, one of the organizations leading the charge in attacking the county’s homelessness situation.
Altilio sees the plan as creating a whole new mindset among the providers of services and shelter to the county’s homeless population.
“Before this plan was created, there was a sense of hopelessness from the providers and politicians about how to deal with the homeless in Hudson County,” Altilio said. “I think there is a fresh attitude that this is our best opportunity once this community sat down to do a 10-year plan.”
The plan calls for 45 goals to be accomplished in the next 10 years to eradicate homelessness.
Some of those goals include developing 65 supportive housing units annually, or 650 units over 10 years for chronically homeless individuals; and developing better services to treat mental illness and drug dependency in homeless people. Preventing tragedy
Altilio said he wants to see the entire plan come to fruition to prevent tragic situations such as the Jan. 4 death of 63-year-old Pedro Sierra, a homeless man whose body was found in a wooden shack used by other homeless men behind the Doric Apartments in Union City. One of the causes of death was found to be the cold weather.
There are approximately 50 homeless people who live in those woods (see last week’s story at www.unioncityreporter.com).
“Anytime that happens, I feel personally that it is a failure on the part of all of us who are working to prevent homelessness,” Altilio said. Sidebar 20 percent of those counted want mental health services
The 2007 Point-In-Time Homeless Survey found that of the 822 adults counted the day of the survey, 20 percent indicated they would benefit from mental health services, 27 percent sought substance abuse services, 24 percent needed medical care, 7 percent were survivors of domestic violence, 8 percent were living with HIV/AIDS, and 2 percent were military veterans.
Eighty-one percent of respondents were single individuals without children in their care, 15 percent were families with children, and 3 percent were couples married or living together.
Also, 64 percent were male and 30 percent were female, 45 percent were African-American, 37 percent were white, and four percent were American Indian/Alaskan Native.
In terms of living situations, 30 percent of those surveyed spent time in emergency shelters, 20 percent were sleeping on the streets or some place not for habitation, 28 percent were living in transitional housing for the homeless, and 10 percent were staying in motels paid for by outside agencies due to their homeless status.
Also, Jersey City was the place where 51 percent of those surveyed lived before becoming homeless. 91 percent of homeless people in Hudson County had lived in New Jersey before becoming homeless, with less than 8 percent previously living out of state. – RK Volunteers are sought for the Point-In-Time Homeless Survey and PHC. Contact Susan Milan, Smilan@jcecdc.org, or Kristin Green, kgreen@hcnj.us for more information on volunteering. Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.