Information collected from local homeless shelters and programs shows that Hudson County’s homeless population may be much higher than what was determined in a survey conducted this past January.
The actual number of homeless people in Hudson County may be two or three times higher than first suspected, and may affect many more locations than the Journal Square and Hoboken train stations, the county freeholders said at their caucus meeting on Dec. 9.
“The homeless number that we’ve identified is much higher than we thought,” said Freeholder Bill O’Dea at the meeting. “We now have empirical data that shows St. Lucy’s shelter in Jersey City and PERC in Union City are overflowing, and the warming center in Kearny went from 18 to 20 people a night last year to more than 60 this season. With the exception of a couple of days, it has not been that cold.”
Each year, the federal government mandates that each county do a “point in time” count of the homeless population for use in determining funding for various programs. But this preliminary report is separate.
Next month, the county will conduct a survey of homelessness that will be independent from the national point in time survey.
O’Dea called for the freeholders to establish a committee to get more closely involved with the county Homeless Task Force.
“We have to find solutions to this,” he said.
The county does not have enough beds in shelters for the number of people that the latest review shows, and there are not enough Single Room Occupancy facilities and transitional spaces that would allow homeless to move from shelters to more permanent housing.
Low numbers
The last annual homeless count, conducted during the night of Jan. 28, 2014, actually showed a decline in the number of homeless on the street from 2013. The January survey reported 821 homeless people in Hudson County, 155 of whom were considered chronic homeless, and 166 of whom were unsheltered on the night of the count. The rest may have been people sleeping on relatives’ couches and the like.
“We always knew there were more homeless than the annual survey showed, but now that number as tripled.” – Bill O’Dea
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The county’s more recent preliminary count, which uses numbers from shelters and other social services, showed that last January’s count underestimated the numbers by far, and that shelters are struggling to handle the need.
“What we’re seeing from preliminary data is somewhat surprising,” O’Dea said. “It far exceeds the homeless count taken earlier this year, which was a count of people on one day and night during the year.”
A number of the homeless are military veterans, he said, and while there are support services for veterans, the county needs to get involved in order to make sure these services are brought to help homeless vets.
“This needs to be our mantra for 2015,” he said. “We always knew there were more homeless than the annual survey showed, but now that number has tripled, and it’s not just in Journal Square and Hoboken. We’re seeing homeless at the HUB (Martin Luther King Drive) and other areas where homeless are congregating.”
Hoboken Freeholder Anthony Romano said he’s seen the impact at the Hoboken shelter, which is at capacity as well, and many who can’t be handled at shelters are sent to a warming center in Kearny.
“We have to get some of our grant writers to get dollars we can use besides using just our own,” O’Dea said. “There is money for veterans housing and supportive services.”
SIDEBAR
County moves ahead with financing for new school and court house
The freeholders proposed two ordinances that would approve bond issues to pay for the construction of a new technical school in Secaucus and a new Hudson County court complex in Jersey City.
The first proposed ordinance approves the sale of bonds totaling $160 million for the construction of a new Schools of Technology on county-owned property near Laurel Hill Park in Secaucus. The Schools of Technology campus will be one of the countywide public schools.
The second proposed ordinance approves a bond sale of $53 million to finance a variety of county projects. That includes a new court house complex to relocate some if not all operations currently done in the Newark Avenue administration building. The ordinance would also provide for the construction of a new county garage and the acquisition of open space.
The freeholders also voted to appoint Hugo Cabrera of North Bergen and Geraldine Perez of Union City as members of the board of the Hudson County Schools of Technology.
The new school in Secaucus is the largest single capital improvement project in the history of the school, O’Dea said.
County Administrator Abe Antun said he wanted to review options for financing with the new board when it takes over early next year. He said with four new members coming on, they will have to be given background. He said the board needs to look at how the financing will impact future county budgets.
“I want them to fully understand the implications,” Antun said. “There are several ways this can be done. I don’t want any surprises.”
Junior Maldonado, who is expected to become freeholder chairman in January, said he needs to get the four new members up to speed quickly.
Youth Detention Center to close
Hudson County will house its youthful offenders in Union County as result of an agreement signed this week. This will result in the closing of the Youth Detention Center in Secaucus, and the reassignment of the 68 employees. The agreement will transport youthful offenders to a facility in Union County, and allow the county to use the Secaucus facility for other uses. The change will occur in January, and will save county taxpayers about $5 million over two years.
Antun said local officials worked with Union County on the program that would house juveniles at that facility, saving county funds.
“We’ve come to an agreement in principle,” he said, noting that all personnel currently working at the Secaucus facility will either be reassigned to the county jail or will serve in some capacity in overseeing the juveniles at the Union County facility.
“They are still our juveniles, even if they are housed in Union County,” Antun said.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.