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RIO GRANDE – Wearing an Eagles cap and a tattered blue bandana over his nose and mouth, Ralph Otto straps bags of food to his bicycle outside The Branches outreach center, in a shopping center off Route 47.
While most of the stores in the white stucco building are closed, either due to restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 or because of economic issues that long predate the emergence of the coronavirus, The Branches was a hub of activity on a Friday morning.
Volunteers loaded bags of groceries for distribution at the center and for delivery. Otto described the center as a lifeline.
“If it weren’t for these people, I’d be dead. It’s rough out there,” he said.
Otto estimates that he’s been homeless for more than two years. For a month, he accepted emergency housing in a local motel, but now, he’s back living in the woods around Rio Grande, in what he described as a “tent city.”
It’s difficult to obtain a firm number for how many homeless people live in Cape May County, in cheap nylon tents or under boardwalks, in their cars, or in emergency housing in multiple motels in the area. According to local advocates, that number dropped sharply.
What changed was an emergency easing of the state rules on emergency housing. The details are complicated, but the result was many who were previously ineligible could get shelter during the pandemic.
“When this first started, every homeless person had the opportunity to be housed,” said Sandra Lockhart, director, The Branches. “Almost all of them did. There were a couple of exceptions that are still in the woods that I know of.”
Donna Groome, the head of Cape May County’s Department of Human Services, said the state temporarily eased some of the criteria for qualification for emergency housing through the NJ 2-1-1 system, a statewide homelessness hotline.
“Everybody needs to be safe during this time,” Groome said. That included extending the usual 30-day limit on housing under immediate need.
“Anybody on immediate need right now is extended out until May 31,” she said. “We are doing our very best to house everyone that is in actual need of housing right now, and I think that we’re doing a really good job of that.”
She said her department works closely with The Branches and other faith and community groups to reach out to the people who need help, and to connect with those that need help navigating the sometimes complicated process of applying for that help.
For years, The Branches has offered food, clothing, support and more from its center, in Rio Grande. The homeless, the disabled, the elderly and the marginalized could count on the center for a hot meal and a warm place to spend the day.
People could shower and get information on the available programs, with a veterans’ advocate also available to help. The organization also coordinated with local officials to get people into emergency shelters on Code Blue nights, in which there was a danger of hypothermia for those sleeping outside.
For now, the emergency restrictions in place because of the coronavirus have shut the center’s doors.
“We have reinvented ourselves into a food bank,” Lockhart said. Early in the crisis, they served three meals each day at the curb outside the center, but fewer and fewer people came. People can now collect food three days a week, and twice a week, a volunteer goes to local motels to deliver groceries.
About 40 families depend on the food, she said.
The members of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, in Stone Harbor, founded The Branches and now work with other churches in the area to keep it going. On the morning of May 15, Administrator Terri Mascione filled bags for children, while volunteers Sean Smith and Becky Brown sorted a mountain of food in the other room.
“All of this is donated,” said Lockhart. “The community has been extremely generous to us. We are well supplied.”
In addition to canned goods and other non-perishable items, she said the center has received donations of large amounts of fresh fruit during the crisis. The group will also provide necessities, like diapers, wipes and hygiene products.
“We do try to tailor it to a specific need,” Lockhart said. The volunteers ask how many people are in a family and the ages of the children. Some of the area schools have continued to offer meals to students who rely on free or reduced-price lunches, and the schools sometimes point the volunteers at The Branches to families in need.
Several reports indicate that the homeless population has shown lower rates of infection from COVID-19. Local advocates say that seems to be the case in Cape May County, as of May 15.
“Right now, we’re not looking at a large count of homeless people that have become infected,” said Denise Venturini-South, the director of Cape Hope, an advocacy group for the homeless.
While the Rio Grande area has long seen the most visible homeless population in the county, Venturini-South said there are people throughout the county who need housing.
“They congregate in Rio Grande because all of the services are in Rio Grande,” she said. It is also where she hopes her organization can eventually construct a rescue mission.
“That’s a long-term goal,” she added.
Many homeless people are isolated, Venturini-South said, and some are reluctant to enter shelters out of fear of infection. Homeless service organizations, like hers, and Family Promise, continue to reach out to the community, she said, but at this time, it can be difficult to make contact.
Some have argued the low rates of reported infection among the homeless has more to do with limited health services and testing. A recent report in the publication “Nature” suggests the coronavirus may be spreading undetected through the nation’s homeless population of about 1.4 million.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in Atlanta, the risk from COVID-19 may be higher for the homeless than for other populations. Many have underlying medical conditions, the CDC reports, and available services often mean congregating in situations that could spread the infection.
“Health departments and healthcare facilities should be aware that people who are homeless are a particularly vulnerable group,” reads a statement, at cdc.gov.
Lockhart said The Branches volunteers are scrupulous about protocols. Meanwhile, she said, new people are moving into the area. She said she is seeing fewer familiar faces at The Branches, but there are people from other counties or others that have been released from jail who have nowhere to stay and few options.
As unemployment rates soar, and the economic impact of COVID-19 begins to become clear, Lockhart worries more people will lose their homes or require assistance. Unemployment claims have already skyrocketed, with many reporting difficulties accessing the state’s online system.
Among the chronically homeless, there are often issues of mental health and substance abuse. It is no different in Cape May County, but in some instances, all it takes are a few severe breaks to upend a life.
“There are people who have just fallen on really hard times,” she said. “There are a lot of reasons for homelessness.”
To contact Bill Barlow, email bbarlow@cmcherald.com.
