CREST HAVEN – A county panel has developed a two-phase proposal for addressing the needs of the homeless in Cape May County.
County Commissioner Will Morey, chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on Homelessness, told his fellow commissioners on July 8 that the first phase, which he outlined for the group, would cost just under $300,000 and could be implemented immediately.
Morey said the second phase involves an innovative housing and case management program but requires more research, and it is not expected to be ready for recommendation before November.
He said a key focus of the committee was to identify gaps in service as well as to leverage and build upon the work of the county agencies and nonprofits that are immersed in battling homelessness.
“We’re not looking to reinvent the wheel,” he said. “We’re not looking to duplicate; we’re trying to, as I mentioned, identify gaps and work on a collaborative basis with these groups and beyond, and our own departments.”
According to a point-in-time count conducted as a federal requirement each year, Cape May County had 208 homeless people on Jan. 23, 2024, the last year for which figures are available. In 2023, the count found 198 homeless, which was an increase of 66% over the 2022 count.
On the night of the 2024 count, 193 people were sheltered somewhere, likely either a warming center or temporary shelter such as a motel room, and 15 people were unsheltered. Thirty-two people were identified as chronically homeless, and 24% had been homeless for more than a year.
Twenty-four households, meaning at least one child under age 18 and one adult, were homeless. These households had 41 children and 28 adults. Children under 18 made up nearly 20% of the homeless population that night.
More than half (56%) of those counted reported one or more disabilities. Males made up 53% of the count.
Advocates for the homeless argue that the annual count does not a provide a fair picture and is lower than the real number.
The county does not operate a shelter for the homeless; it, along with nonprofit organizations and some churches, work together on homelessness.
Morey said the first phase of a plan to create a program called Cape May County Homelessness Collaborative Services has three components. First, he said, the recommendation is to supplement the existing Cape May County Homeless Trust Fund prevention program. The trust fund was established in 2016 in an attempt to provide housing. A homelessness prevention program generally means efforts to assist people who are housed but are struggling to remain there. Also recommended is funding for a diversion program, which would seek to find permanent housing for clients.
The second part would be to supplement the existing Cape May County Division of Social Services’ general government assistance program, simply called GA.
The third component, Morey said, is creation of an emergency motel placement program for those not eligible for the current emergency assistance program, which will be designated for use by partner agencies. Currently, various nonprofits work with local motels to provide emergency short-term housing for their homeless clients. The cost has ranged from $250 to $750. Recently, one agency had to pay $712.80 for four nights for a client in a local motel.
A breakdown of the $300,000 funding figure for the first phase was not immediately available.
Phase II, he said, involves creating an innovative combination master leasing/permanent supportive housing/intensive case management program.
“This requires more research commitment with multiple partners and program development before being recommended,” he said. “We’re expecting to be able to make a recommendation on that in November. That is our goal.”
The ad hoc committee’s recommendations came after numerous meetings over 15 months, where Morey and Commissioner Bobby Barr, committee vice chair, met with Donna Groome, county social services director; Pat Devaney, department head of Cape May County Human Services; Sabrina Hand, coordinator of the Human Services Advisory Council; county Administrator Kevin Lare and Deputy Administrator Ron Simone.
The committee met with a stakeholder group in March that included The Branches, Cape Hope, Collaborative Support Program of New Jersey, the Citizens Veterans Advisory Committee, Jewish Family Services and Volunteers of America.
“So, a really sharp group that has really tremendous engagement in this area throughout the county,” Morey said.
Morey said that adding mental health and substance abuse treatment components to the plan is being considered.
He said he would like to have a resolution prepared for the commissioners to approve by their next meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, July 22.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
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