<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1b3M53_0wPbOKZp00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1b3M53_0wPbOKZp00" width="980" height="653" ><figcaption>Jen Ursillo</figcaption></figure><h2>🔴 Homelessness is on the rise in New Jersey</h2><h2>🔴 The latest #NJ Counts survey finds a 24% increase since 2024</h2><h2>🔴 Almost 13,000 men, women and children are experiencing homelessness in NJ</h2><p>New Jersey continues to see a staggering rise in persons experiencing homelessness.</p><p>The 2024 Point-In-Time Count that counted individuals experiencing homelessness on the night of Jan. 23, found that 12,680 men, women, and children in 9,148 households experienced homelessness in New Jersey.</p><p>“We continue to see a rise in persons experiencing homelessness in New Jersey. There was a 24% overall increase in persons experiencing homelessness since 2023, and a 14% increase in households with children experiencing homelessness,” said Kasey Vienckowski, senior associate at <a href="https://monarchhousing.org/nj-counts/">Monarch Housing Associates</a>.</p><p>The Point-In-Time Count is a national count that happens in the last 10 days of January. It’s a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development mandate, a federal mandate for all communities to conduct a count of those experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness.</p><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2Xl5qk_0wPbOKZp00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2Xl5qk_0wPbOKZp00" width="1060" height="707" ><figcaption>VILevi</figcaption></figure><h2>Other Key Findings from #NJCounts 2024</h2><p>There were 9,525 persons in sheltered locations (emergency shelter, hotel/motel placements, transitional housing, and safe haven programs). There were 1,737 persons who were unsheltered.</p><p>Representing 16% of the total homeless population, 2,079 people in 1,836 households were identified as chronically homeless.</p><p>Families made up 1,484 households, which included 4,606 people (a family is defined as a household with at least one child under the age of 18 and one adult).</p><p>Children were 22% of the homeless while 20% were adults over age 55.</p><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=07Z5MX_0wPbOKZp00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=07Z5MX_0wPbOKZp00" width="1600" height="1067" ><figcaption>Man in need. Unhappy homeless man is holding hands to get help. (Zinkevych)</figcaption></figure><h2>Why is there an increase in homelessness in NJ?</h2><p>“The data shows, that while the homeless numbers continue to rise, we also have a decrease in vacancy rates for rentals across the state, dropping to 3.1% in 2023 from 3.7% in 2022,” Vienckowski said.</p><p>There are many folks who are being priced out of their housing.</p><p>“The highest reason we saw for the cause of homelessness this year in this state was being asked to leave a shared residence followed by eviction or risk of eviction,” she said.</p><p>People are losing their housing either by a hard eviction through the court process or by a soft eviction where they’re being asked to leave where they’ve been residing.</p><p>New Jersey municipalities have seen significant rent increases that, in many cases, exceed national averages. According to the Rent Report for April 2024, prepared by rent.com, New Jersey saw a 6.02% increase in rents year over year.</p><p>An outreach worker talks to a homeless woman ensconced in a makeshift shelter she erected behind an apartment in Atlantic City, N.J., on Monday, July 1, 2024. The city is launching programs to address homelessness in the seaside gambling resort. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)</p><p>An outreach worker talks to a homeless woman ensconced in a makeshift shelter she erected behind an apartment in Atlantic City, N.J., on Monday, July 1, 2024. The city is launching programs to address homelessness in the seaside gambling resort. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)</p><p>New Jersey, like the rest of the nation, is in the midst of a housing crisis. The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s Gap Report has identified that within New Jersey, for every 100 households looking for a place to call home, there are only 31 units available to them, creating a shortage of 224,531 homes for extremely low-income households.</p><p>“When you think about that staggering statistic, the largest number of people being asked to leave a shared residence, also makes me think about the fact that these units are overcrowded too, so folks are not able to afford or find housing on their own. So, they’re staying or living with family or friends, maybe on a permanent basis, but they’re being asked to leave after a period of time,” Vienckowski said.</p><p>The data also reveals that 35.2% of homeless households had no source of income, highlighting the complex economic challenges many face. One of the leading causes of homelessness in New Jersey was loss or reduction of income, making it very difficult to afford a place to live.</p><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1ezCJg_0wPbOKZp00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1ezCJg_0wPbOKZp00" width="1600" height="1067" ><figcaption>Canva</figcaption></figure><h2>Racial Disparities</h2><p>New Jersey also continues to see disparities in who experiences homelessness. Black or African American people in New Jersey represent about 12% of the state population. But Vienckowski said they make up almost 49% of the state’s homeless population.</p><p>For folks who are Hispanic or Latino, they make up 22% of the population in the state, and they make up 23% of the state’s homeless population, she said.</p><p>When you look at the white counterparts, it’s 51.5% of New Jersey’s population, but they only make up 23% of the homeless population in the state.</p><p>“When we talk about homelessness, we have to talk about equity and access to resources. Is there a reason that our neighbors who are black and brown are not able to access our resources and find housing,” Vienckowski said.</p><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3PUN0D_0wPbOKZp00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3PUN0D_0wPbOKZp00" width="1600" height="1067" ><figcaption>Canva</figcaption></figure><h2>#NJCounts</h2><p>The Point-In-Time Count is a reminder that a lot of work still lies ahead in addressing homelessness in New Jersey.</p><p>The data needs to be used to advocate for affordable housing development, looking at municipalities to ensure that they’re meeting their requirements to build affordable housing in their communities.</p><p>“We need to lean on our state and federal governments to provide the funding to build that housing and to ensure that we have adequate, safe, affordable housing for every resident of New Jersey,” Vienckowski said.</p><p>The full report and county-by-county reports are available <a href="https://monarchhousing.org/nj-counts/">here</a>.</p><p>The next Point-In-Time Count is scheduled for January 29, 2025.</p><p><a href="mailto:trenton.dme@townsquaremedia.com?subject=Feedback%20or%20correction">Report a correction</a> <i>👈 | 👉</i> <a href="https://nj1015.com/contact-nj-1015-newsroom/">Contact our newsroom</a></p></div></body>

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Homelessness continues to surge in New Jersey

🔴 The latest #NJ Counts survey finds a 24% increase since 2024. 🔴 Almost 13,000 men, women and children are experiencing homelessness in NJ. New Jersey continues to see a staggering rise in persons experiencing homelessness. The 2024 Point-In-Time Count that counted individuals experiencing homelessness on the night...