Homeless programs are few, resources fewer Nonprofits struggle to fill in the gap when public programs fall short BY CHRISTINE VARNO and LAYLI WHYTE Staff Writers SCOTTPILLING staff Eileen Higgins is executive director of Spring House in Eatontown, which provides transitional housing for homeless women and their children. In one of the nation's most affluent counties, 900 people are known to be homeless, one-third of those are children. And, as the need for emergency and affordable housing continues to increase, resources are becoming more limited. Long Branch residents represented 7 percent of the total homeless population in the county in a study conducted last month by the Monmouth County Division of Social Services (MCDSS), according to Susan Rea, a social work administrator at MCDSS. "We need to break down the common misperception and prejudices about homeless people," said Rea recently. "They look just like you and me." Like all towns in the county, Rea explained, Long Branch has experienced a jump in the cost of housing and residents' wages have not kept pace. The causes of homelessness are many, according to Pamela Ferdinand, MCDSS director, and include loss of income from employment, substance abuse, bankruptcy, medical or mental health issues, development/eminent domain, and release from an institution, such as prison or a hospital, with no income. "Homelessness can be temporary or chronic," according to an e-mail from Ferdinand. "There are many causes of homelessness and most families/individuals have multiple issues." According to Rea, "The highest concentrations of emergency placement are for people coming from towns with the highest concentrations of poverty: Asbury Park (27 percent), Neptune Township/City (12 percent), Long Branch (7 percent) and Keansburg (5 percent)." MCDSS administers several programs to help the homeless in the county, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and assistance to single adults, known as General Assistance (GA). "Emphasis in both of these programs," Ferdinand said, "is on work as a way to self-sufficiency. However, there is underfunding of supports, especially transportation and child care, that could assist people with employment. These expenses add to the budget woes of families already in financial trouble." The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) calculates fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Monmouth County, including all utilities, at $1,013 per month and $1,086 for a three-bedroom unit, Rea said, adding that creating affordable housing is the solution. "Advocacy for construction [and] rehabilitation of housing units for low- and very-low-income families and adults is crucial," she said. Rea added that additional resources for low-income working residents in the county are also extremely limited. There are a limited number of nonprofit and church-supported programs in communities that assist in housing needs, Rea said, but they are only able to provide very limited emergency placements, usually only two to five days. Rea cited the Long Branch Concordance (LBC) as a nonprofit agency that advocates with local church and charitable organizations to find resources to address the growing number of people in the county who cannot afford to put a roof over their heads. LBC Client Service Specialist Jean Caruso said last week that from July 2005 to June 2006, 11 percent of the 366 individuals who reached out to the LBC were homeless. Of the 366 people, 65 percent were from Long Branch and those remaining were from surrounding towns Asbury Park, Red Bank, Eatontown and some from as far as Ocean County. "We have a good number of [homeless] people who have had some criminal history, alcoholism or some types of mental and physical illness that have kept them from achieving what they want," Caruso said. "Right now, there is very little that we can do and that is what is so frustrating," she said. One problem the LBC faces in locating resources for the homeless is the lack of available shelters, according to Caruso. "There is only one shelter in Monmouth County, the shelter on Fort Monmouth," she said. "You have to be a citizen [to stay at the shelter], and we have a great immigration population here. "There are not a lot of resources and we are limited to what we can do," Caruso said. Interfaith Hospitality Network, an emergency shelter in Keansburg, is one of the agencies that the LBC networks with, but Caruso said that Interfaith only houses families with children. "Most of the homeless we see here are single and male," she said. Other Long Branch organizations the LBC uses for referrals for the homeless are Checkmate on Memorial Parkway; St. Michael's Church on Ocean Avenue; and Holy Trinity Church on Prospect Street. The LBC also reaches out to the MCDSS; the Monmouth Housing Alliance in Eatontown; HABcore in Red Bank and Asbury Park; and Interfaith Neighbors in Asbury Park. LBC Director Terri Blair said Monday that when someone who is homeless comes into the office, the LBC's primary goal is to see if they are eligible for any type of housing assistance. "If we find that they are, then we try to connect them," Blair said. But a big part of what the LBC does is provide support, Blair explained. "Last year, one person came to us who was living in an unheated van in the dead of the winter. We have other people who are sleeping in abandoned buildings and on the beach. "Sometimes all we can do is have them come here in the morning and help them get food and medical care. But often, we are reduced to just listening," Blair said. "There is such a lack of resources in Long Branch." While public emergency and affordable housing resources are becoming more scarce, there are nonprofit programs helping people leave the ranks of those at risk of homelessness. Eileen Higgins, executive director of Spring House, Eatontown, which provides transitional housing for homeless women and their children, said that the majority of women who come to Spring House are in their late teens or early 20s. Higgins said that during the day, women living at Spring House must spend their time either pursuing education or job skills. "When they come back here later in the day," she said, "we teach them life skills, like cooking, managing their finances, and spending quality time with their children." At the end of the one-year period, the women must demonstrate that they are able to live on their own and care for their children. If a woman passes the exam, Spring House helps her find housing; and housing costs are paid for two years through a grant from the county. "We have a tough application process," Higgins said. "We tell them when they first come in that if they don't think they're ready for this, they should come back when they are. This is a one-time deal. We're in their face. We ask questions. Most of these girls have never had anyone do that for them." Higgins said that Spring House plans to build an apartment on the same property as the house, on South Street. "This way," she said, "the girls can transition from the house to the apartment, and we'll still be right here as a support system. "We have room for nine families at a time," she said, "and we're usually at capacity. There are 300 families in Monmouth County that are eligible for programs like ours, and there are only 48 slots available in the county." Since Spring House opened in 1988, Higgins said, it has helped more than 90 women become more independent. "About 85 percent of our women graduate," she said, "and a good number of them are off welfare within three to five years." The resources that are available through the county, state and federal governments are, according to Ferdinand, dwindling. "Housing subsidies are underfunded," she said. Ferdinand said that high housing costs in Monmouth County contribute to the housing problems. "Many families pay high rent in Monmouth County," she said. "When a large portion of their income goes to pay for housing costs, there is not a great deal of money left for other expenses such as food, transportation, child care or medical costs. MCDSS administers the Section 8 program, providing housing subsidies through HUD [the federal Housing and Urban Development program]. Slots are limited and there is a waiting list that moves very slowly. "Insufficient money for prevention programs is also an issue. MCDSS provides housing counseling and landlord/tenant counseling on a very limited basis due to funding constraints. There needs to be more emphasis on funding for prevention."