RIO GRANDE – Who owns the homeless problem in Cape May County?
While some are quick to say “the state” or “the county,” multiple local agencies are also trying to address the issue including The Branches Outreach Center of Rio Grande, Cape Hope Cares, churches and others.
While they may disagree on who “owns” the problem, they all agree that more, and different approaches need to be taken if there is ever a chance of solving the problem.
“We need to find an answer,” said Marty Montgomery, vice president, Cape Hope Cares, a non-profit 501(c) agency whose goal is to help the homeless through a “housing first” model.
“We need to walk with the homeless, not just rescue them by getting them help that perpetuates a bad idea. We have the voucher program without results in the end. We need to change what we are doing.
“Our goal is not only to rescue but to walk with the poor and marginalized that are experiencing homelessness,” Montgomery added. The agency he represents was formed in 2014.
“We provide personal attention and offer immediate and direct benefits to children, families and the aging that they may live with dignity as they work toward achieving their goals through the housing first model,” he added.
Housing First is a consumer-driven approach that provides immediate access to permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness, without requiring psychiatric treatment or sobriety as determinants of “housing readiness.”
Additionally, the Housing First approach is guided by the idea that housing is a basic human right, according to Cape Hope Cares’ website.
Fostering, Partnering Needed
“We begin by building and fostering relationships of mutual respect with county and state agencies, as well as working with other community organizations to create a setting of compassion and service,” Montgomery added.
Middle Township Police Chief Christopher Leusner echoed the need to work together, “We all have a responsibility as a community to solve it, not pin the responsibility on one group. It takes a partnership between Social Services, the police, local, state, and federal governments to come together and solve it.”
However, as one Branches volunteer, Ron Rollet, noted, “Once you step away from the island enclaves of Cape May and work with the folks who make up the majority of residents in the county, you begin to understand that this is a world where the seasonal work environment is based on summer employment or a fishing work culture where being laid off is the norm and getting work on a long-line or scalloper or sharking boat is the exception.
“It will take training, jobs, affordable housing,” the Lower Township resident added. It will also take money.
Funding Not Enough
County Freeholder Gerald Thornton recently told the Cape May County League of Municipalities that the county spends “over $1 million on homeless people,” funded with federal monies.
An examination of the proposed county budget posted on its website showed the 2018 budget is $152,526,928, of which more than $25 million is designated for health benefits for employees and retirees. Social Services had the only line item showing $268,608 designated for the homeless, up from $134,304 last year.
Thornton stated, “The number quoted of $268,608 is only the Social Services Homeless Fund. We also have the Homeless Hotline of $111,000 and funding for TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) and GA (General Assistance) of $740,000 that we spend as a resource for those homeless or at risk of being homeless. This brings the total funding assisting the homeless to $1,119,608.”
Montgomery said the county spends about $50,000 providing vouchers for the homeless to spend a night in a hotel, “but they are running out of money already this year.”
Rollet added that last year, The Branches provided 550 hotel vouchers through its emergency fund and this year, nearly 1,700 vouchers have been provided.
In December 2016, the freeholder board authorized a 10-year plan to address homelessness, which allowed the establishment of a Homeless Trust Fund. The trust raises money through a $3 fee attached to transactions related to new construction handled by the County Clerk’s office, such as real estate transfers.
The goal of the 10-year plan and trust fund is to move homeless individuals and families toward permanent housing and self-sufficiency. At the time of the authorization, county officials said they expected to raise $54,000 to $70,000 a year.
Feb. 25 Concert Planned
“We are constantly seeking donations while granting emergency funding for a few,” added Montgomery about the work Cape Hope Cares does. “The truth is that nonprofits like ours and those like The Branches and others are picking up the slack where the county is completely missing in action.”
One agency, A Voice for the Homeless, is presenting a benefit concert 3 p.m. Feb. 25, at the First Presbyterian Church of Cape May, 500 Hughes St., to benefit The Branches.
No tickets are needed; donations only are being accepted.
Last year, more than $10,000 was raised for the emergency fund.
Rooms Provided, Trust Lags
“We’ve had more than 35 days of Code Blue alerts so far this winter,” Rollet noted, referring to a code called by the county Office of Emergency Management if the National Weather Service calls for temperatures of 25 degrees Fahrenheit or less, or if precipitation is called for, and temperatures will be 32 degrees Fahrenheit or less.
When a Code Blue is called, volunteers head to The Branches to call the homeless hotline on behalf of individuals to arrange for a room at an area hotel.
The first time a homeless person takes a room, he or she must visit Social Services the following day to register for possible services. If they don’t show up, they are sanctioned by the state. However, that sanction is waived during a Code Blue.
“The issue is that many homeless distrust the system,” Rollet noted, “especially the vets, and we have a lot of veterans who are homeless here. Sometimes the homeless have a bench warrant against them, they could have been charged with loitering for example, and when they are asked for their Social Security number, they don’t want to give it. They could be arrested and not have the funds to pay fines or bail.
“Although they are told they don’t have to provide their Social Security number to get a room, in reality, they do if they want a room for the cold night,” he added.
Police Check, Try to Connect
Leusner said his department works closely with The Branches and other organizations and their first priority is to connect the homeless with services that can help.
“We do check on the homeless periodically,” Leusner said, “checking identification for example. Sometimes you have Megan’s Law (registered sexual) offenders hiding out with the homeless, and they should be arrested. Sometimes a property owner doesn’t want them trespassing on his property, so we have to have them move on.
“During a recent Code Blue, we checked on an individual and told the man he could get a room for the night,” he recalled. “The man pulled motel keys out of his pocket and said he had one for the night, but wanted to stay outside.
“How do you get through to them?” he asked.
“There are varying social service problems,” Leusner continued. “We need to work together as a community to identify strategies to help the people who are open to getting help, the ones who are ready to take steps to improve their situation and guard against those that prey on the downtrodden.
“I do have concerns with the vouchers and hotel situations,” he admitted, “because while these people need a place to stay, it often puts them in an environment with more risk and temptation that can make the situation worse.
“Heroin dealers will try to recruit those down on their luck and get them addicted so they can make money,” Leusner said. “Many of the homeless have mental health issues. It takes a partnership of everyone to come together and solve this problem.”
Alcoholism, Drugs Play Role
While alcoholism plays a significant factor, Leusner said he’d been told that about half of the local homeless also have an opiate problem.
In a prospectus from Cape Hope Cares, they claim there were 1,400 homeless county residents as of Jan. 17, 2017.
Montgomery said the numbers were provided by the county, and include 87 individuals with no shelter at all, and 500 individuals who are dependent on friends or relatives with no secure arrangements night-to-night.
Rollet, who has been a volunteer at The Branches for the past two years, said not everyone qualifies for Social Services, and that’s when The Branches and other groups kick in with emergency help.
“The public perception of the homeless is also badly skewed based on fear and prejudice,” Rollet said. “In my experience, the homeless in Cape May County are most often in that situation, not from choice – far from it – but because of circumstances beyond their control.
Homeless Reveal Broken System
“I’m thinking of a woman in her 60s whose husband became sick after he retired and his illness used up all their savings,” he recounted. “When he died, she lost her home and suddenly was alone and forced to fend for herself. She didn’t choose to become homeless; it was forced upon her by a broken medical system,” Rollet said.
“Another man worked in construction and was injured and couldn’t work,” he continued. “He, too, ended up homeless and fought for three years to receive the Social Security payments he had earned for all the years he had contributed. Now he receives maybe $700 a month. Who could find a rental and pay for food with an income of $700 a month?,” Rollet asked.
“Yes, many of the homeless suffer from mental illness,” Rollet acknowledged, “but we as a nation have closed the mental hospitals that used to care for such individuals and have put them out onto the street where they are unable to cope with ordinary life challenges.
“Very few, in my experience, are drug addicts, although I have encountered a number of homeless with alcohol problems. We try to persuade these folks to go to a rehabilitation facility, although there is only one rehab in the entire surrounding area. None of the local hospitals even provide facilities for basic alcohol withdrawal treatment,” he continued.
Atlantic City Rescue Mission Services
During the Jan. 25 Cape May County League of Municipalities meeting, Thornton referred to the Atlantic City Rescue Mission (ACRM) being used by Cape May County where the homeless can receive medical care, drug counseling, job counseling and “all their amenities.”
He also said the county is working with the ACRM on opening a facility in Wildwood that “the Atlantic City Medical Center, our rescue center, will use.”
Montogomery challenged Thornton’s statement, saying “there is no shelter in Wildwood, nor are there plans.”
He also claimed the statements about the ACRM were false.
However, according to the ACRM’s website, they claim they are the largest provider of services for the homeless in southern New Jersey with 320 shelter beds, meals, clothing, counseling, work readiness, addiction recovery and transitional housing services provided. Statistics on their website indicate in 2007, the only year called out, 5 percent of the homeless they served came from Cape May County.
In addition, Thornton stated, “I spoke again with Dan Brown, who is the executive director, about the services offered by the mission. First, is the John Brooks Recovery Center for drug and alcohol treatment, which is in the same building as the mission.
“The Atlantic City Medical Center had provided a clinic until recently inside of the mission’s building but now that clinic is offered down the street and provides medical care with an agreement they have.
“They also have a mental health program named Crossroads that they are affiliated with. Plus, the mission works with 20 different agencies that they have agreements with for various needs.”
Ambitious Goals, Chance to Help
Several organizations, including Cape Hope Cares, help homeless people find a place to sleep for one night or two. Others help the most capable families establish homes on their own.
The Cape Hope Center project will help families and individuals make a transition to healthy and independent living.
Montgomery said that Cape Hope Cares has “ambitious goals of opening a transitional housing facility with the main focus being to challenge individual’s deficiencies and give those who seek a home a leg up. Currently, we’re looking at the building on Route 47 called the Chapin House. It’s boarded up right now, but it’s already set up to fit some of our immediate needs, but not all. It is one of our lofty goals that we need the community to come together on.”
Cape Hope Cares’ goal is that housing security will provide a base for the homeless to develop the skills and systems that make a family a sustainable unit. Residents would stay with them three to 18 months. Four projects would be one piece of property:
* 25 units of family housing.
* Daycare and education resource center
* 20 units of single-adult housing
* Three acres of an active farm as a food/activity/employment resource.
The four projects are separated for fundraising purposes but would form an integrated support system for Cape May County’s homeless population. “Having all the projects close to each other allows mutual support,” Montgomery said.
“We need money,” he added. “Gerry Thorton says they (the county) spend $1 million a year, but they get zero results. That is not what we had in mind.”
“I do believe the people in Cape May County want to help, but they don’t know how,” Rollet added. “I believe we can find a solution to the problem of homelessness if we keep working at the local level the way that The Branches does. I also believe that people in the county want to be generous if they are given the opportunity to do so.
“The homeless persons we care about need the structures in which they must live changed, too,” he said. “Our voices, energies, work and time need to be spent in these areas. We need to begin talking about this. How can we change the systems that enslave?”
To contact Karen Knight, email kknight@cmcherald.com.
