DCA Participates in Nationwide Supportive Housing Week to Highlight the Proven Impact of Collaborative Housing Initiatives

• Posted on: 08/26/2026

TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is joining the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH), along with communities and organizations nationwide, in recognizing Supportive Housing Week, August 24-28, 2026. Supportive Housing Week is an opportunity to highlight the effectiveness of supportive housing and the thriving communities being developed through innovative, cost-effective solutions to reduce homelessness.  

This year’s Supportive Housing Week theme, “Supportive Housing Works,” spotlights the proven impact of combining affordable housing with wraparound support services that are tailored to the unique needs of individuals and families. Supportive housing increases resident stability, well-being, and reduces reliance on costly crisis systems.

“Supportive Housing Week provides an opportunity to demonstrate how effective policy has led to innovative solutions and tangible results,” said DCA Commissioner Jacquelyn A. Suárez. “New Jersey is proud to join CSH and partners across the country in highlighting the work being done to create housing stability and stronger communities.”

Throughout Supportive Housing Week, DCA will highlight on its social media channels its investments and partnerships that are developing affordable, supportive housing, housing-related support services, and efforts to strengthen the state’s supportive housing workforce.

“New Jersey continues to demonstrate what is possible when state agencies, housing providers, and service organizations work together to advance housing stability,” said CSH Associate Director of the Metro Team Brian McShane. “DCA has been a national leader in supportive housing. Among its many accomplishments is its partnership with the New Jersey Department of Children and Families through Keeping Families Together, which continues to establish New Jersey as an innovator in meeting the needs of families at risk of homelessness through collaborative cross-sector partnerships. CSH is proud to partner with DCA, DCF, and others to show that supportive housing works.”

Supportive Housing Works

Supportive housing has a proven track record of improving stability and well-being, reducing reliance on costly crisis systems, and strengthening communities. Supportive housing aids in advancing shared priorities, including reducing homelessness, addressing behavioral health, providing specialized services to veterans’ service organizations, enhancing youth well-being, and increasing community safety.

“Supportive housing is about creating stability and connections to services that allow individuals and families to obtain housing and remain housed,” said DCA Assistant Commissioner Janel Winter, who directs the Division of Housing and Community Resources. “As we look ahead, it’s critical that we continue to support safe, affordable permanent housing as the foundation for the successful participation in services, employment, and community that leads to sustainable, thriving lives for residents of our state.”

Investing in Supportive Housing

Through the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) and National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF), DCA provides financing for affordable housing development throughout New Jersey, including supportive housing for individuals and households with special housing needs.

Since 2018, the Department has awarded more than $310 million in funding through the State’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the National Housing Trust Fund, and the NJ Healthy Homes initiative. This funding has helped create nearly 1,200 units of affordable rental and homeownership housing. These investments help expand the supply of quality, affordable homes while supporting housing stability for New Jersey residents who face the greatest barriers to securing and maintaining housing.

Connecting Housing with Supports

DCA works across state agencies and with community partners to connect New Jersey residents with stable housing and the services they need to remain housed. Through its partnership with the New Jersey Department of Human Services (DHS), DCA administers rental assistance through the Supportive Housing Connection for individuals served by DHS, including people with mental health and developmental disabilities. DCA also partners with DHS on the NJ FamilyCare Housing Supports Program, administering grants to help homeless service providers build the capacity to become Housing Supports providers and deliver services that help eligible NJ FamilyCare (Medicaid) members find and maintain stable housing. The Housing Supports program, authorized through New Jersey’s Medicaid Section 1115 Waiver Demonstration, provides services including pre-tenancy and tenancy-sustaining assistance, move-in supports, and residential modifications and remediation. Together, these partnerships help connect housing assistance with supportive services and advance DCA’s commitment to promoting housing stability and better health outcomes for New Jersey residents.

“I know from personal experience that stable housing and health are fundamentally interconnected. Through our NJ FamilyCare Housing Supports program, individuals and families are connected with the services and resources that can help them build lasting stability,” said DHS Commissioner Stephen Cha. “Through our partnership with DCA, we will continue to ensure all New Jerseyans across NJ have the tools they need to live healthy, independent lives in the community.”

DCA also leads Bringing Veterans Home (BVH) in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Veterans Affairs, a statewide initiative focused on preventing and ending veteran homelessness. Since launching in November 2024, BVH has helped stably house more than 2,500 veterans and has established a coordinated statewide system that connects veterans to outreach, homelessness prevention, housing navigation, rapid rehousing, stable housing, and supportive services. Today, more veterans are entering housing in New Jersey each month than are entering homelessness, demonstrating what is possible when state agencies, local providers, and community organizations work toward a shared goal: helping people quickly find and remain in a stable home.

“Since the start of our work, more than 2,600 Garden State veterans have been permanently housed,” said DVA Commissioner Vincent Solomeno III. “Behind that number are 2,600 individual stories. They are veterans who served in different eras and experienced homelessness for different reasons. Some needed someone to find them. Some needed a housing voucher. Others needed help navigating sometimes complex systems of support. For each of these brave service members, permanent housing meant keys to a front door, a safe place to lower their head at night, and a home for themselves and for their families.”

DCA applies the Housing First model in its statewide approach to homelessness. Rather than requiring people to meet conditions before they qualify for a home, the model moves people into stable housing first, then connects them to supportive services. It reflects a simple belief: housing is a basic need that has to be met before people can address other challenges in their lives.

The New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF) also partners with DCA through programs and initiatives designed to meet the housing and healing needs of the populations served by DCF. This includes wraparound supportive housing for survivors of domestic violence, youth and young adults aging out of foster care and transitioning toward independence, and the Keeping Families Together (KFT) program, which provides comprehensive, evidence-based, trauma-informed therapeutic and concrete supports for families involved in the child welfare system, who may be affected by substance abuse, and who, without KFT intervention, may be at risk of housing-related family separation and homelessness.

“We value our partnerships with DCA to help meet the basic needs of New Jersey’s residents and families who are involved with, and served by, the Department of Children and Families,” said NJ DCF Acting Commissioner Joseph E. Ribsam, Jr. “We recognize that having a place to call home is an important step for families to gain stability, and from which to heal from complex trauma. By working collaboratively across state government, we’re able to better support our constituents, to help them connect to their strengths, and to thrive in their communities.”

Strengthening New Jersey’s Supportive Housing Workforce

DCA is also investing in the professionals who help make supportive housing successful.

In partnership with Rutgers University School of Social Work Institute for Families, DCA is developing a new professional training initiative, the Housing Stability Institute, focused on housing case management, resource navigation, and housing navigation.

The initiative is expected to launch in November and will provide formal training designed to strengthen and expand the supportive housing workforce in New Jersey.

“Skilled professionals who understand the needs of the people they serve and can help them navigate the often-complex path to housing stability are essential to strong supportive housing programs,” said DCA Division of Housing and Community Affairs Senior Policy Advisor Renee Koubiadis. “The Housing Stability Institute will help build a stronger New Jersey supportive housing workforce by providing professionals with the knowledge, tools, and resources needed to effectively support individuals and families in obtaining and maintaining stable housing.”

Supportive Housing in Action

As part of Supportive Housing Week, DCA Commissioner Jacquelyn A. Suárez will visit Homes by TLC’s supportive housing development in Hamilton. The DCA-funded 16-unit development welcomed its first residents in September 2021 and includes two single-family homes and seven duplex-style buildings, providing a total of 16 affordable housing units. Families have stable, affordable housing as well as access to HomeFront’s wraparound services, including individualized case management, employment assistance, children’s programs, food resources, and financial and life-skills support.

Homes by TLC was established by HomeFront in 1999 to expand access to stable, affordable housing for families in Mercer County. Today, Homes by TLC develops, owns, and manages more than 150 affordable apartments throughout the county.

“The combination of quality, affordable housing and supportive services gives families the stability and resources they need to thrive,” said Homes by TLC Executive Director Jim Lordi. “We are proud to partner with DCA and HomeFront to provide families with not just a place to call home, but a foundation on which they can build a stronger future.”

“This partnership brings together Homes by TLC’s housing expertise and HomeFront’s comprehensive support services to meet families’ needs more fully,” said HomeFront Chief Operating Officer Bobbin Paskell. “By working together, we can help families overcome barriers, pursue their goals, and build the lives they envision for themselves."

The Hamilton development demonstrates how affordable housing and supportive services can work together to help families achieve lasting stability, strengthen family outcomes, and enhance the broader community. The Commissioner’s visit will highlight the partnership among DCA, Homes by TLC, and HomeFront, as well as the development’s impact on residents and the surrounding neighborhood.

To learn more about Supportive Housing Week and the national initiative led by the Corporation for Supportive Housing, visit https://www.csh.org/shweek.

DCA’s Division of Housing and Community Resources provides a wide range of services addressing needs in housing assistance, housing production, community development, neighborhood revitalization and improvement, energy assistance, and community services.

DCA offers a wide range of programs and services, including local government management and finance, affordable housing production, eviction and homelessness prevention, building and fire safety, community planning and development, historic preservation, disaster recovery and mitigation, and information privacy.

For more information about DCA, visit https://nj.gov/dca/ or follow the Department on social media: