FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, February 1, 2016

New Jersey Department of Community Affairs header graphic


County staff and volunteers offer goods, services to those in need

Freehold, NJ –
Monmouth County’s annual NJ Counts, a one-stop event to provide various health and human services for residents who are homeless, or who are on in danger of becoming homeless, was held last week in Asbury Park, Freehold, Keansburg and Red Bank.

New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Charles A. Richman and Freeholder John P. Curley thank the volunteers working at the NJ Counts event at the Jersey Shore Rescue Mission in Asbury Park.“We offered a warm coat, personal care items and a range of health services to 477 people,” said Freeholder John P. Curley, liaison to the County’s Department of Human Services. “This event is so important because it provides people with coats, blankets and other physical items they may need and it provides them with access to the many resources that are available to them.”

NJ Counts is the umbrella name for a nationwide effort to bring attention to efforts to end homelessness. People without a permanent residence or who are at risk of being homeless were encouraged to participate.

Attendees at the four community locations completed a very brief survey form before being provided food, clothing, free health screenings, employment resources and other services.

The purpose of NJ Counts, coupled with the Point in Time survey, is to get a better idea as to who is homeless and out there somewhere. Not included in the totals are individuals who are in transitional housing, emergency housing, motels, hotels, boarding homes or other locations.

“The primary goal of NJ Counts is to gain an accurate picture of the number of people who experience homelessness and to work toward providing them with needed services,” said Jeffrey Schwartz, acting director of the Department of Human Monmouth County Human Services Acting Director Jeffrey Schwartz, NJ DCA Commissioner Charles A. Richman and Freeholder John P. Curley visit the NJ Counts event at the Jersey Shore Rescue Mission in Asbury Park.Services, “It is important for us at the State level to have an understanding of the current number of homeless people in need in order to better serve them,” said New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Charles A. Richman, who visited the Asbury Park location. “I commend Monmouth County for having locations set-up throughout the county where people had direct access to local, county, state and federal services all in one place.”

“Donations of time, space and resources by businesses and not-for profit groups make the NJ Counts event possible in Monmouth County,” Curley said. “We have a very caring community and we appreciate the time, talents and goods that make a positive impact in the lives of people who need these items and seek these services.”

The count is part of an annual point-in-time survey of the homeless population in the New Jersey. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires that such a count of the homeless be done every other year and although 2016 is not a mandated year, it is expected that each county conducted one.

Organizations that donated time and resources for Monmouth County’s 2016 Point in Time Survey and NJ Counts include:

  • Acelero Learning
  • Affordable Housing Alliance
  • Allenwood Elementary School
  • ARC of Monmouth, Tinton Falls
  • Asbury Park Social Services
  • Bethel AME Church, Freehold
  • Brookdale Community College– Ernestine Austin & Lisa Savage, Site Coordinators for Freehold
  • Burlington Coat Factory
  • Catholic Charities-Linkages
  • CHANT – Annie Hainesworth
  • Child Care Resources
  • Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey
  • Community Affairs & Resource Center – Beatriz
  • Oesterheld, Site Coordinator for Keansburg
  • Community Health Law Project – Asbury Park
  • Covenant House
  • D Waters and Associates LLC
  • Division of Child Protection & Permanency
  • Dunkin Donuts
  • Easter Seals NJ – Adult Shelter
  • Family & Children’s Services
  • Family Promise of Monmouth County
  • Feed All God’s Children – Jim Benedict
  • Foodbank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties
  • Frank’s Deli – Baked Goods
  • Freehold Area Open Door
  • HABcore, Inc.
  • Holiday Express
  • Holmdel Girl Scout Troop #675
  • Interfaith Neighbors, Heather Schulze and Maura Comer
  • Site Coordinators for Asbury Park
  • Investors Bank
  • Jacob Palew
  • JBJ Soul Foundation
  • Jersey Shore – A Team
  • Jersey Shore Rescue Mission
  • Kula Café
  • LADACIN Network
  • Lunch Break
  • Lynanne Rosenthal
  • Manna House
  • Marlboro Elementary School
  • Mental Health Association of Monmouth County
  • Meridian Health
  • Monmouth A-Team
  • Monmouth Cares
  • Monmouth County Department of Human Services
  • Divisions of: Aging, Disabilities & Veterans Services; Mental Health & Addiction Services; and Social Services
  • Monmouth County Workforce Development
  • Monmouth County Buildings & Grounds – General Trade Office
  • Monmouth County Community Development
  • Monmouth County Health Department
  • Monmouth County Homeless System Collaborative
  • Monmouth County Human Services Advisory Council
  • Navicore Solutions
  • New Beginnings Agape Christian Center
  • New Jersey Auto MCO
  • New Jersey Department of Labor-One Stop Center
  • New Jersey Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
  • New Jersey Housing & Mortgage Finance Agency
  • New Jersey Natural Gas
  • 180, Turning Lives Around
  • O.C.E.A.N, Inc.
  • One Warm Coat
  • Paul David Party Supplies
  • Pilgrim Baptist Church of Red Bank
  • Red Bank Resource Network
  • Red Cross
  • Salvation Army, Asbury Park
  • Social Security Administration
  • Soul Kitchen in Red Bank
  • South Jersey Legal Services
  • St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Community Center in
  • Keansburg
  • St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Freehold
  • St. Rose of Lima Church –Sheila Starosolsky and  Dorothy DuBois, Site Coordinator for Freehold
  • The Center in Asbury Park
  • The City of Asbury Park
  • The Community YMCA
  • Thomas & Geneen Graziano
  • United Way of Monmouth County
  • VNA Health Group
  • Various Ministries
  • Veterans Affairs
  • Winifred Canright House

CONTACT:
Tammori Petty
or Emike Omogbai
(609) 292-6055