By Michael Hill
Correspondent
Shanay Moss was homeless, living in a shelter with four children.
“It was hard. It was more that fact that you don’t have a lot of people of people that are there to help you. Then you got to do what you got to do to get to where you got to go,” Shanay said.
The Moss family, now with a 6-month-old, lives in an apartment on Newark’s south side.
The Mosses are among the numbers leaving homelessness in New Jersey according to the latest NJCounts survey.
It shows the homeless population at 10,211 — down by 1,645 from last year — and the homeless families at 1,346 and folks with no shelter at 974. That’s up from last year and is considered startling because the survey was taken on Jan. 27 — the day of a blizzard — and Feb. 3 — when the high reached just the mid-20s.
While homelessness overall decreased in New Jersey, it’s up about 4 percent in Essex County.
“I’m shocked. I’m sorry to hear that. The only thing that I can say is I think a lot of people try to come towards a large city like Newark to hopefully be able to access services that they cannot access in a smaller suburban city,” said St. John’s Catholic Church Outreach Director Barbara Maran.
Maran says she’s seen the mouths to feed triple at St. John’s Catholic Church’s soup kitchen, and more and more women and children.
“And it’s just a terrible, terrible way and they exist in fear. It’s just mind boggling,” Maran said.
Some men and women offer real challenges when it comes to housing the homeless. They require what’s known as wraparound services — services for the mentally ill. The Mental Health Association offers that.
“Supportive services that are out in the community, that are out in their apartments, that are out in the programs, we meet them where they are to identify their needs and meet them in real time,” said Ross Croessmann.
Monarch Housing Associates conducted the latest survey and says the housing the homeless effort needs more resources — like housing vouchers, living wage jobs and affordable housing to be built.
Monarch says 42 percent of New Jersey’s homeless have physical, mental and addiction issues.
“All of those are overrepresented in the homeless population. It’s a barrier for folks to maintain their housing,” said Jay Everett of Monarch.
The next survey plans to take a better look at younger people who are homeless.
For now, the Mosses count their blessings.
“My kids are fine and I don’t have anything else to worry about,” Moss said.
But, based on the numbers, many New Jerseyans are seeking what the Mosses have found.
Chasing the Dream: Poverty and Opportunity in America is a multi-platform public media initiative that provides a deeper understanding of the impact of poverty on American society. Major funding for this initiative is provided by The JPB Foundation. Additional funding is provided by Ford Foundation.