Good Morning.

This year?s Point in Time Count/Project Homeless Connect is getting closer, and we are looking for volunteers on the day of the event. Attached and below is information regarding volunteer opportunities for the Point in Time Count/Project Homeless Connect that you may be able to share with others that might be interesting in volunteering, or members of your organization.

Also attached please find a flyer that can be printed and circulated to those in your program as an advertisement to encourage attendance at the Project Homeless Connect event.

Volunteer Information

Project Homeless Connect (PHC) is a one-day, one-stop event where the Hudson County community will make food, clothing, and various services available to the homeless. The event has been organized by the Hudson County Alliance to End Homelessness (HCAEH), a collaborative group of representatives from local government, the non-profit community, and the business sector. However, donations and volunteer participation is what will make this event a success. The HCAEH expects to provide socks, coats, hats/gloves, a hot meal, information and referral, hygiene kits, medical screening, HIV/AIDS testing, and much more during this event.

PHC is being coupled with the County?s annual Point in Time (PIT) Count of the Homeless, which is a 24 hour count of the homeless. Homeless individuals are given a survey that asks information about their situation and needs so that the County can build information on the number and needs of our homeless. The PIT Count will take place during 2 shifts, where volunteers will go into the streets with local providers to find and survey the homeless.

Volunteer Activities:

□ Set-up Evening Before PHC : 3pm-6pm January 28, Grace Church Van Vorst, 39 Erie St., Jersey City, NJ

□ Administer Surveys at PHC: Between 10am-2pm, 1/29/08 Grace Church Van Vorst, 39 Erie St., JC, NJ

□ Serve Food: Between 10am-2pm, 1/29/08 Grace Church Van Vorst, 39 Erie St., Jersey City, NJ

□ Crowd Control: Between 10am-2pm, 1/29/08 Grace Church Van Vorst, 39 Erie St., Jersey City, NJ

□ Distribute Clothing: Between 10am-2pm, 1/29/08 Grace Church Van Vorst, 39 Erie St., Jersey City, NJ

□ Distribute Coats: Between 10am-2pm, 1/29/08 Grace Church Van Vorst, 39 Erie St., Jersey City, NJ

□ Take Down: Between 2pm-4pm, 1/29/08 Grace Church Van Vorst, 39 Erie St., Jersey City, NJ

□ PIT Count (Unsheltered): Morning Shift 4am ? 8am

□ PIT Count (Unsheltered): Evening Shift 7:30pm-11:59pm meet at Red Cross, 53 Mill Rd., JC, NJ

All volunteers will have to arrive 20 Min. before their shift for training.


Please contact Susan Milan, Smilan@jcecdc.org, or Kristin Green, kgreen@hcnj.us if you are interested in volunteering.

Thank You.

Kristin Green
Program Director, Housing Assistance
Hudson County
Div. of Housing & Community Development
Brennan Court House, 2nd Floor
583 Newark Avenue
Jersey City, NJ 07306
E-mail: kgreen@hcnj.us
Phone: (201) 795-6185
Fax: (201) 795-1903


Quote:

Captain McDonough <jcpdeastdistrict@yahoo.com> hide details Nov 28 (2 days ago) to east <jcpdeastdistrict@yahoo.com> date Nov 28, 2007 12:57 PM subject Article on homeless The following article was forwarded to us from the Hudson County Division of Housing & Community Development. Please read and distribute to all community members, neighbors, family and friends as many of you have expressed your concerns on the homeless in your community. Madeline Friedman Reporter staff writer As the temperatures drop, the county's three main homeless shelters are starting to feel the cold-weather crunch. The three shelters - Palisades Emergency Residence Coalition in Union City, the Hoboken Homeless Shelter, and St. Lucy's in Jersey City - have been operating at or near capacity on most nights, shelter workers said. The three shelters have, respectively, 40, 50, and 80 beds per night, but there are estimated to be approximately 2,973 homeless people in the county. The 170 beds are reserved for people admitted to the shelters' residential programs, which guarantee people a bed, three meals a day, and a variety of support and counseling services to help them get back on their feet. The residencies usually run for a set period of time, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months. But what happens when all those beds are full? Shelter directors say they work to make sure nobody gets turned away. "For us, if it's a cold, wind chill bitter night, a 90-degree humid day, or a bad rainstorm, we'll take people in," said Brenda Pulaski, Director of Housing Services for Catholic Charities of Jersey City and Newark. "In the case of a weather emergency or something of that sort, we find a place for them." For many shelters, that often entails calling around to other shelters to find a spot, she said. Pulaski said that her shelter does not turn anyone away who needs a warm bed for the night. There is also a county-wide emergency plan to handle larger demand, but only on days when it becomes bitterly cold. If the temperature is predicted to fall below 24 degrees (with or without wind chill) the county Office of Emergency Management calls a weather emergency, and the county's emergency plan goes into effect. Then county officials, shelter providers and the United Way work to make sure that everyone and anyone who needs a warm place to sleep has one. Some shelters, such as St. Lucy's and PERC, set up cots in overflow rooms, and all of the agencies work together to transport people out of the cold and inside to an undisclosed location in the county where they will have a warm bed. To get the help, people have to go to one of the three shelters, or call the county's homeless hotline, at 1-800-624-0287. By the numbers Jaclyn Cherubini, the director of the Hoboken Homeless Shelter, said last week that 110 people came to the shelter for a hot meal this past Monday, when it started getting colder. On more temperate nights, there are 80 per night, she said. But only 50 guests can sleep there for a night, even though anyone who needs a warm meal can get one if they get there by 7:30 p.m. "There were so many people, we had 10 people standing [in the dining room] with their plates," she said. Cherubini is not the only one who has noticed an increase. Pulaski said that she has also already seen larger numbers of people at St. Lucy's, the emergency shelter that Catholic Charities runs in Jersey City. "We have been pretty much full since August, which is a little higher than usual for us," Pulaski said. She said it was due more to the ebb and flow of the population than economic factors. "We're not necessarily seeing people who may have been caught in foreclosure," she said. Instead, she said, it was often returning residents who still had trouble ending addictions or finding affordable housing. Veterans more vulnerable According to the National Coalition to End Homelessness, 25 percent of the homeless people in the United States at one point served in the military. And that is true in New Jersey as well. "In the state of New Jersey, on any given night, there are approximately 7,000 homeless veterans," said Robert Sauselein, superintendent of Veteran's Haven, a transitional housing facility in South Jersey. Based on what she has seen firsthand, Cherubini believes that the number of homeless vets in Hudson County may be higher than 25 percent. "When I went out for homeless count last year, almost all of the unsheltered homeless were veterans," she said. "I think it's probably closer to 40 percent, but unfortunately [that many] do not utilize our shelter services." She also added that many shelters are unable to address the special needs homeless vets have, including addiction and mental health disorders, like post traumatic stress disorder. She said that when veterans do come into the shelter, she and her staff try to work with the state department of veterans' affairs to match them with the special services they need. That special need, Sauselein said, is one reason that HUD's goal to end homelessness in 10 years is "good, but unrealistic." He said that many vets (as well as other homeless people) feel safer out of shelters. "There are some people who will never come in," he said. The move to permanent, supportive housing Around the county and around the country, homeless advocates are working on local versions of a 10-year plan to end homeless, pushed by the National Alliance to end Homelessness, along with the federal department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Hudson County's own plan was approved last month by the board of chosen freeholders. The plan aims to transition chronically homeless people into permanent housing. "The key for our 10-year plan is to produce permanent housing for these individuals," said Jacob De Lemos, Program Director for Hudson County. Cherubini said that the Hoboken Shelter moves about one to two of its 50 residents per week into a more permanent housing program. And over at PERC in Union City, Director Matthew Kamin said they are building an affordable housing initiative in different locations across the county, in collaboration with the United Way and the Jersey City Episcopal Community Development Corporation. Their initiative provides the chronic homeless of Hudson County with 26 units of affordable housing. The units are leased-based, which means the client pays 30 percent of his or her income to the apartment and the three agencies pick up the rest of the bill. Also, in 2008, PERC will build eight individual units of affordable housing on its Union City premises. For more information, call Hudson County's homeless hotline at 1-800-624-0287, or the United Way Social Service referral service, at 211. To donate food, toiletries, or money to the shelters, call the following numbers: Hoboken Homeless Shelter- (201) 656-5069, St. Lucy's - (201) 656- 7201, PERC- (201) 348-8150. Comments on this piece may be sent to mfriedman@hudsonreporter.com. Jersey City Police Department Web Site: http://www.njjcpd.org/

One thing I wish there was, is someone I could just call informally to find out what the story is about particular homeless people downtown.

I know this is impossible, because it would violate privacy laws, but, for example, have people made thorough efforts to get the Veterans Department and all that involved with the homeless guy on Newark who looks like Grandpa Walton?

If so, and he's just impossible to help, that's one thing, but, if he actually has benefits coming and the real problem facing him is bureaucracy, then it seems as if all that's standing between that guy and a retirement apartment in Florida is some red tape.

Or maybe not. But it does seem as if the cast of downtown homeless guys is almost as stable as the list of restaurants, and you would think that stability would mean something if anyone were making serious efforts to get them off the sidewalk.

FYI... Community Event....

Saint Peter?s College is sponsoring an awareness month with many activities geared toward the homeless. One event I thought some people might be interested in is : Faces of Hunger and Homelessness Panel Monday

Nov. 19th at Noon in Mcintyre lounge Room A.

Thursday Nov 15th at 5:00 p.m. in the Quad is a candle light Vigil for homeless teens sponsored by Covenant House.

If you have any questions, or would like to attend the event, please contact: mhartman@spc.edu

Thank You.

Kristin Green
Program Director, Housing Assistance
Hudson County Division of Housing & Community Development
Brennan Court House, 2nd Floor
583 Newark Avenue
Jersey City, NJ 07306
E-mail: kgreen@hcnj.us
Phone: (201) 795-6185
Fax: (201) 795-1903

Please find Save the Date information below and attached regarding the upcoming 2008 Project Homeless Connect.
* Responses requested.

Also attached is a general letter asking for donations and participation at the event, which the PIT/PHC Subcommittee would like HCAEH members to begin sending out to contacts.

Save the Date

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

10am ? 2pm


Hudson County

Project Homeless Connect

The Hudson County Alliance to End Homelessness Point in Time/Project Homeless Connect Subcommittee is requesting that local agencies participate in this event by having a table, providing information and referral, as well as, any other unique service that your agency is able to offer including; Medical Testing and Screening, HIV/AIDS Testing, Counseling, Dental Screenings, other items to be distributed etc.

Please respond to this announcement by contacting either:

Susan Milan at smilan@jcecdc.org, or

Kristin Green at kgreen@hcnj.org


The PIT/PHC Subcommittee will be developing a list of agencies that have committed to attending the event, therefore responses to this Save the Date are very important.


Thank You.

Kristin Green
Program Director, Housing Assistance
Hudson County
Division of Housing & Community Development
Brennan Court House, 2nd Floor
583 Newark Avenue
Jersey City, NJ 07306
E-mail: kgreen@hcnj.us
Phone: (201) 795-6185
Fax: (201) 795-1903

Click below to download letters:

Donation Letter

Project Homeless Connect-Save Date

Wow, that's great ....well done!
Quote:

Good Afternoon!

I wanted to thank everyone for their participation in, and help with planning Project Homeless Connect. We had a successful event, and estimate that we were able to serve between 400-500 people at the Project Homeless Connect Site, the majority of which came in the morning. As many of you saw, Director Mangano visited the event and was impressed with the variety of services that we were able to offer at the Armory. He was also able to hear about the progress on the Ten Year Plan at the County Executive?s State of the County Address.

Again, thank you for all of your hard work!

If you would like to view pictures from the event please use the link below:

http://monarchhousing.org/Gallery/displayimage.php?album=16&pos=0

Monarch will be updating their Blog with articles published in newspapers throughout the State on Project Homeless Connect. To access those articles please use the link below:

http://www.monarchhousing.org/Blog/

To subscribe to the Blog, and receive automatic updates use the following link:

http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=646966

Please also take a look at Monarch?s updated e-zine which includes information about the statewide Project Homeless Connect effort, and Director Mangano?s visit to Hudson County.

http://www.monarchhousing.org/news/ehtezine.html

Kristin Green [kgreen@monarchhousing.org]
Monarch Housing

TODAY, Thur, Jan 25! Hope some of you can help us out. 10 AM -6:30PM and sickie me and 3 others throughout the day are there to provide clothes, voter registration and could use any last minute vounteer help at any time, for any length of time! Good morning everyone: 1) Continue to get the word out about PHC Event to your clients and local community. 2) Continue to gather volunteers to participate during PIT Count and PHC Event. 3) Encourage volunteers to assist with setup at PHC Event in the JC Armory at 9:00 AM, 1/25. We need to setup as quickly as possible. 4) No food or drinks will be allowed in the Armory. 5) Dress comfortable for PHC Event; remember that the Armory flooring is used for indoor track and field events. I would recommend putting on sneakers. 6) Volunteers for the Night PIT Count 7:00 PM - 11:59 PM for Unsheltered Location should go to the American Red Cross of Hudson County: American Red Cross of Hudson County 53 Mill Road Jersey City, NJ 201-822-3600 7) Please make sure that you advise volunteers to bundle up during the night count because it appears that we are going to have a cold and windy evening. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me 201-795-6493. Thanks Jacob[/quote]

TODAY, Thur, Jan 25! Hope some of you can help us out. 10 AM -6:30PM and sickie me and 3 others throughout the day are there to provide clothes, voter registration and could use any last minute vounteer help at any time, for any length of time! Good morning everyone: 1) Continue to get the word out about PHC Event to your clients and local community. 2) Continue to gather volunteers to participate during PIT Count and PHC Event. 3) Encourage volunteers to assist with setup at PHC Event in the JC Armory at 9:00 AM, 1/25. We need to setup as quickly as possible. 4) No food or drinks will be allowed in the Armory. 5) Dress comfortable for PHC Event; remember that the Armory flooring is used for indoor track and field events. I would recommend putting on sneakers. 6) Volunteers for the Night PIT Count 7:00 PM - 11:59 PM for Unsheltered Location should go to the American Red Cross of Hudson County: American Red Cross of Hudson County 53 Mill Road Jersey City, NJ 201-822-3600 7) Please make sure that you advise volunteers to bundle up during the night count because it appears that we are going to have a cold and windy evening. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me 201-795-6493. Thanks Jacob

Good afternoon everyone: I would just like to inform you of a few restrictions that have been placed on PHC Event by the Armory. Please be aware that no food or drinks will be allowed in the facility. The Armory recently instituted a no food or drink policy at the facility. However, the Red Cross will be providing food and coffee from two of their vehicles. People attending the event will be given food and drinks as they exit the Armory. This is a small setback, but we will do our best with the efforts of the Red Cross and their vehicles. Please know that we can also direct people to our local soup kitchens and pantries. Also, we will need volunteers at 9:00 AM on 1/25 the day of the PHC event to help setup tables and chairs. We were looking to setup the day before but we will not be able to do this. The tables and chairs will be delivered at 9:00 AM. I know that we will be pressed for time, but if we get enough volunteers we can certainly make it happen. Again, no food in the facility and we are going to setup at 9:00 AM, 1/25 and open the doors at 10:00 AM. Another important item that came up at this morning's PIT meeting was on the volunteers that will be going out during the evening count. Please send all those volunteers who are interested in going out to unsheltered site locations to the offices of the Red Cross of Hudson County. We will be sending them out from the Red Cross; their office is just a few blocks away from the Armory: Red Cross of Hudson County 53 Mill Road Jersey City, NJ 201-822-3600 If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me 201-795-6493. Many thanks for your assistance and patience. Jacob Jacob Delemos [jdelemos@hudsoncountynj.org]

Bump [/quote]

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Hey any musicians, bands interested in helping me set up a similar event to raise money, food and blankets such as below, please contact me asap.

347-789-7508 or brightmoments@gmail.com

Blank-Fest Concert Donates 200 Blankets to help the homeless through Project Homeless Connect New Jersey
On Sunday, December 10th, internet music magazine Let?s Rock America sponsored the very first Blank-Fest in New Jersey, a charitable 12 hour concert that collected blankets for the homeless, at The Crossroads, 78 North Avenue in Garwood, NJ. At the end of the day an estimated 200 blankets were donated to Project Homeless Connect through Monarch Housing Associates.

The concert began at noon and featured a dozen of New Jersey's indie rockers including the Paterson-based duo the Kimballs, Fords-native singer-songwriter Melinda Davis and Wayne rockers She Could Be King. A blanket, new or gently used, purchased admission to the show for the entire day, plus an arm?s length of raffle tickets for giveaways between sets.

Blank-Fest Concert Donates 200 Blankets to help the homeless through Project Homeless Connect New Jersey


Randi Moore, pictured on the right, Monarch Housing Associates' Senior Associate and Team Leader of the Ending Homelessness Team, accepted the estimated 200 blankets on stage from Rich Kubicz. Ms. Moore stated that the blankets will be given to the homeless who attend the Project Homeless Connect New Jersey events on January 25th. She thanked the sponsors of Blank-Fest for selecting Project Homeless Connect as the recipient of these blankets.

The original Blank-Fest was started 10 years ago by Kenn Rowell and Chuck DeBruyn of the band the Baghdaddios in Nyack, NY. It has grown into an annual event collecting hundreds of blankets for the homeless in New York City. The event has now expanded to New Jersey, thanks to Joe DiBlasi and Richard Kubicz, the founders of Let?s Rock America. Monarch Housing and Let?s Rock America plan to make this an annual event. To learn more about Blank-Fest, click here. http://www.letsrockamerica.com/

Please consider donating clothes, food, blankets or any services for the homeless you might provide (gift certificates for hair cuts, personal grooming, etc)that day of January 25th from 10AM until 6:30PM. If you need to leave your items before that time please contact Community Relations Officer, PO Dina Reilly at the East District Command at this contact info: PO Dina Reilly 201-547-5408 jcpdeastdistrict@yahoo.com 207 7th Street (tween Erie & Grove/Luis Munoz) Jersey City, NJ 07302 Quote:

Point in Time/Project Homeless, Jan 25, 2007 connect Meeting Notice!

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday January 10 at 10 am, at the United Way ? 857 Bergen Ave.

Meetings have also been scheduled for the following dates, all held at the United Way and beginning at 10am:

January 17

January 23

All are invited, but please contact Kristin Murphy below so she will greet you when you come:

Kristin Green
Monarch Housing Associates
15 Alden St., Suite 10
Cranford, NJ 07016
908.272.5363
908.382.6326 (fax)
kgreen@monarchhousing.org

Monarch Website:
http://www.monarchhousing.org
Monarch's Ending Homelessness Ezine:
http://www.monarchhousing.org/news/ehtezine.html

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi