Project Homeless Connect New Jersey 2007
was a success!

Monarch Housing, in collaboration with the New Jersey Alliance for the Homeless (NJAH) coordinated and planned the first ever statewide Project Homeless Connect (PHC) in the country on January 25th, 2007.  Due to the efforts of Monarch, twenty (20) counties held events on January 25th.  Each county has been planning and coordinating their own event and in the end all forty-three (43) Project Homeless Connect sites across the state were very successful.  While every location varied in the types of services provided, all will be providing food and much needed items for the Homeless. 

So far we have received outcomes from ten (10) of the twenty (20) counties.  Two thousand two hundred ninety eight (2,298) individuals in these ten (10) counties attended the events.  Of those who previously did not have a place to sleep, one hundred forty-five (145) were able to secure shelter or some other form of bed for the night.  All who attended the events received food and many got clothing and much needed services as well.  All of this was made possible by the five hundred sixteen (516) volunteers throughout these ten (10) counties. To see the specific data click here.

Monarch plans to do a full report once we receive data from the remaining ten (10) counties.

Through Monarch Housing Associate’s Continuum of Care and Ten Year planning work in fourteen (14) of the twenty-one (21) counties in the state, Monarch recognized the need for such an event to both mobilize the continuums and to increase public awareness of homelessness in New Jersey. Based on five years of experience developing the annual continuum of care plans, it became crystal clear to Monarch that without public awareness and support the ability of the local communities to develop and implement strategies to end homelessness is limited.

Monarch identified a relationship between PHC and the mandated Point in Time Count (PIT) and it became clear that holding both events on the same day allowed CoC’s statewide to reach out to and survey more of the homeless people in their communities, while providing those people with much needed services. It is expected that connecting the PIT with PHC day will improve the numbers generated by the PIT count, thus helping the CoC’s to end homelessness.   We look forward to the PIT results that are due out by the end of February.

The statewide event gained the support of the Corporation for Supportive Housing, The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, the New Jersey Department of Human Services, and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness as well as many United Ways across the state.  In addition Freeholders, County Executives, Mayors, State Officials and legislative representatives visited the sites to help out.  

Executive Director of US Interagency Council visits Project Homeless Connect

Upon hearing of the Statewide Project Homeless Connect Event in New Jersey, Philip Mangano, Executive Director, USICH visited two sites in New Jersey. At St. Joseph's Hospital Regional Medical Center's Harbor House in Paterson Mr. Mangano met with the Secretary of State, Nina Mitchell Wells, Passaic County Freeholder Director Elease Evans and New Jersey Director of HUD, Diane Johnson. He toured the site and addressed the volunteers, thanking them for their efforts to combat homelessness in the county.

Later in the day Mr. Mangano traveled to the Armory in Jersey City, Hudson County's Project Homeless Connect Site, where he was greeted by Ten Year Plan Co-Chairs Daniel Altilio, President, United Way of Hudson County, and Bishop Thomas Donato, Archdiocese of Newark, as well as Pamela McCrory, Director, Supportive Housing and Special Needs NJHMFA. Director Mangano toured the facility and spoke with various providers and homeless clients before traveling to the Hudson County Executive's State of the County address. The Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness and County's support of State legislation that would allow Homeless Trust Funds to be developed at the County level, were major focuses in County Executive Thomas DeGise's ad dress. Director Mangano ended his visit to Hudson County by speaking at the Freeholder's meeting that followed the State of the County address, and re-iterated the importance of Hudson County's support for a Homeless Trust Fund, in that it will allow the County and Alliance to End Homelessness in Hudson County the resources needed to implement their Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness.

Hudson County Supports Homeless Trust Fund and Eradicating Chronic homelessness

Hudson County Executive Thomas A. DeGise and the Board of Chosen Freeholders have become the first in New Jersey to call on the Governor and the State Legislature "to create a statewide system of County-based Trust Funds to prevent and end homelessness." Mr. DeGise stated "Governor, if your priority is reducing the cost of services in the name of property tax reform, here is a great way to do just that. And best of all it is the right thing to do." To read all of his comments on the Homeless Trust Fund and ending homelessness click here.

The Hudson County action will add momentum to the campaign to establish County Homeless Trust Funds so that homelessness can be ended and not managed. To read the Jersey Journal article on the speech click here.

This is the link to the full speech click here.

Photos and Press Updates

The press coverage from the first ever statewide project Homeless connect has been overwhelming. The best place to get updates is the Monarch Blog. This is updated daily. To sign up for the email digest click here.

Some of the current posts are on the sidebar and in this section. The best place to go for regular updates is the Monarch Blog. To view the more than thirty-one (31) posts on the Blog about Project Homeless Connect click here or use the headline banner at the bottom which provides the most recent postings. Click on one to read the details. Photos and news are added daily.