Program Area: Homelessness

Reducing Homelessness in Newark and Essex County

The Nicholson Foundation has been working with government agencies, community organizations, and other stakeholders to develop strategies and interventions to address some of the most critical social issues affecting the residents of Newark and other Essex County municipalities. The Foundation’s efforts are primarily focused on enhancing family and community stability, helping at-risk youth, supporting ex-offenders to reintegrate successfully into their communities, and facilitating access to health care. While developing programs in these areas, the Foundation and its partners recognized that homelessness is a significant risk factor, which could diminish the positive impacts of these programs if not adequately addressed.

Homelessness—living on the street or other public place or in a temporary shelter—is typically part of a long period of housing instability marked by frequent moves, overcrowding, and doubling up with relatives and friends. Without the stability of a home of their own, homeless parents are unable to create a safe and nurturing environment for their families. Especially for children, being homeless can have devastating effects on mental and physical well-being. Compared to children who are housed, children who experience the stress of homelessness show higher rates of health, emotional, and educational problems, including a greater likelihood of not completing high school. For many ex-offenders, not having a place to live upon their release from prison exacerbates their difficulty in accessing the services needed to successfully reintegrate into their communities. Finally, the homeless are more likely to use expensive publicly funded, and often emergency-driven, treatment services for their health care.

In 2009, a one-night Point In Time Count (PITC), conducted to determine the number of homeless, found more than 1,000 homeless adults and 650 children in Essex County, with almost 90% of them—900 adults and 500 children—in Newark alone. Based on the PITC, it is estimated that over the course of a year there are close to 4,000 homeless adults and children in Newark.

Recognizing the negative impact of homelessness on families and communities, The Nicholson Foundation has been supporting the Essex County efforts of the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH). CSH is an experienced and well-regarded national organization with expertise in helping communities create permanent housing for the homeless. In Essex, CHS has been collaborating with State, County and municipal governments, as well as community partners, to develop and implement the Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in Newark and Essex County (the Ten Year Plan). The Foundation also supports a Policy Advisor on Homelessness and Housing Development within the Newark Office of the Mayor. The policy advisor, working closely with CSH, coordinates the efforts of Newark agencies and local stakeholders to develop and implement the Ten Year Plan in Newark.

This plan, approved in 2010, sets forth the goals, as well as the interventions and implementation strategies, to ensure that all individuals and families who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, have access to stable and permanent housing with the resources needed to sustain it.

The primary goals of the Ten Year Plan include

strengthening homeless prevention efforts,
expanding permanent low-cost housing, including supportive housing units for special needs groups,
improving access to housing resources and services through centralized intake locations,
enhancing coordination among providers through the development of a system-wide, real-time computerized resource listing, and
securing more effective public policies and adequate funding from government and philanthropic sources to support homeless initiatives.

The evidenced-based Housing First model provides the building blocks for the Ten Year Plan. Housing First requires a shift to permanent housing away from a reliance on emergency shelter and transitional housing, which has been the standard practice in Essex County. Numerous studies have demonstrated that the Housing First approach leads to better outcomes for the homeless, including greater housing stability, improvements in physical and behavioral health, and increased income. This model recognizes that while some homeless individuals and families may require ongoing supportive services to remain housed, many simply need housing they can afford.

The Ten Year Plan also recommends the expansion of supportive housing, which is low-income permanent housing combined with services for individuals and families with special needs, such as those with serious mental illness and/or substance abuse disorders, ex-offenders, and youth transitioning from the foster care system. Studies demonstrate that it is no more expensive to provide supportive housing than continue with the shelter-based approach with the homeless cycling between shelters, streets, emergency rooms, jails, and mental health facilities. Moreover, supportive housing has been shown to reduce recidivism rates for ex-offenders returning to their communities after incarceration.

For the Plan, click the following link: The Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in Newark and Essex County.