Fewer are homeless in NJ, but the count comes with an asterisk

There may be fewer homeless people in New Jersey this year than were counted in 2016, but within that population there is a larger number who are considered "chronically homeless," according to a survey that provides a snapshot of individuals and families without a stable place to live.

The annual survey, NJCounts, counted homeless people on the night of Jan. 24, finding 8,532 homeless men, women, and children across New Jersey — 409 fewer than in 2016. The count is facilitated by Monarch Housing Associates, a Somerset County-based affordable housing advocacy group.

"While the slight decrease in homelessness in New Jersey is a positive result, the reality is that the size of the homeless population has remained relatively the same from 2016 to 2017," Taiisa Kelly, a Monarch senior associate who headed the team that conducted the survey, said in a statement. She noted that the results give the agency hope, but that the overall numbers are within the statistical margin of error.

Burlington County has the third-highest homeless population in the state, with 7.1 percent of the total number, or 604 homeless individuals. Essex County ranks first, with 24 percent or 2,048, followed by Hudson County at 9.6 percent of the homeless population, with 822 individuals.

The count is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to account for sheltered homeless people each year and unsheltered homeless — those living in the streets, in cars, under bridges, or other places not meant for human habitation — every other year. This year is a mandated unsheltered-count year.

And while the survey found there was a year-to-year decrease of nearly 5 percent in the total number of homeless people in New Jersey, 1,092 people were found to be in the chronically homeless category, an increase of 259 individuals, or 35 percent, from last year.

"Although we welcome any indication of a decline in homelessness, our mission is far from complete," said Deborah DeSantis, president and CEO of the Corporation for Supportive Housing, a national New York-based nonprofit agency that works as an advocate for the homeless by providing housing and community development solutions and economic tools.

"New Jersey, Monarch, and their provider partners across the state deserve praise for embracing supportive housing … and other solutions proven to end and prevent homelessness," DeSantis said in a statement. "But this progress will not continue if our leaders in Washington dismantle the housing investments and services effectively changing the lives of New Jerseyans who otherwise would face a very bleak future on our streets."

Burlington County counted 399 homeless households within its 604 population group. Though the numbers are among the highest in the state, county officials put them in the win column, noting drops of more than 30 percent in the numbers of both homeless individuals and households from 2016. The numbers also are the lowest in five years.

"Since 2014, when we had a peak count, we've taken an aggressive approach to moving the homeless out of hotels and motels and into permanent housing," said Eric Arpert, a spokesman for the Burlington County Board of Freeholders. The board  has worked with the state Department of Human Services to create programs to assist with the county's large homeless population.

Arpert said that compared with other regions in the state, Burlington County has no major urban center and no dedicated homeless shelter.

Over time, the motels and hotels that were meant to be only temporary housing — usually a maximum of about 30 days — acted as a kind of "magnet," attracting to Burlington County a homeless population that may not have wanted to be placed in shelters because of the restrictive nature of such places, Arpert said.

The county has used $10 million a year in federal, state, and county funding to help assist people in finding permanent homes through a "rapid rehousing program" and to teach people on the brink of losing their homes how to keep them. "The best way to end homelessness is to prevent it from happening in the first place, so we have been working to give people the tools to be self-reliant in keeping the homes they have through various counseling and jobs programs," Arpert said.

In Camden County, there were 540 homeless individuals in 451 households counted in this year's survey. The county, with just over 6 percent of New Jersey's homeless population, has 142 fewer individuals and 107 fewer households who are homeless than last year.

In Gloucester County, 128 homeless people were counted, 16 more than last year, and 63 households,  two more than last year. Gloucester County makes up 1.5 percent of the state's homeless population.

Kelly said that Monarch, 40 partner organizations, and as many as 350 constituents from each of New Jersey's congressional districts will go to Washington on July 26 to attend a congressional reception where they will carry their "No Cuts for Housing" message as a pushback against planned Trump administration affordable-housing cuts.

"HUD funding has been essential in decreasing homelessness in New Jersey," Kelly said. "The almost 30 percent decrease in homelessness between 2013 and 2017 would not have been possible without the critical housing and service resources made available at the federal level."