Several months ago, The New York Times issued a published an opinion piece on the state of housing insecurity in America. “A Life Without a Home: Voices from the Tents, Shelters, Cars, Motels, and Couches of America“ addressed the issue by listening to and photographing families and individuals who were homeless. It shocked many by reporting that they were not just people we see sleeping on the streets or in parks. Most of us are unaware of who might be homeless where we live, because it appears that they have a “home.” Not so!
Often the first step when one loses their own home is to live with friends or family. It is called “doubling up” when two families live together in space intended for one. If this is for a short period of time, it may not seem to be that bad. In fact, when the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development conducts their annual housing insecurity survey, it does not consider a family or person to be homeless if they are in a doubled-up living situation.
However, when Congress passed the McKinney-Vento Act in 1987, it recognized youth and children as homeless if they live in doubled-up housing. This legislation enables more than 1.2 million students in public schools to access benefits like free lunch, transportation and dedicated social workers. Despite having a roof over their heads, these children face stressors which affect learning, mental health and emotional well-being.
We have to do more than place NJ residents in motels. We have to solve homelessness
As president of the board of Family Promise of Bergen County, I have often heard people say, “Well, at least they have a place to stay, and they should be thankful for that.”
True. They may have a roof over their heads. But we should not be blind to the fact that we know there are serious short- and long-term consequences to couch surfing and living doubled-up. A couch is not a home.
A motel is also not a home. I’m not talking about staying for a week or so at a motel at the Jersey Shore or in the Poconos. I’m talking about living 24/7 in motels on Route 46 . . . and Route 4 . . . and Route 17. I used to wonder, “Who actually lives in these motels?” I never really considered that these motels are another last resort, providing rooms for homeless families and individuals.
This became an eye-opener for me when COVID-19 struck in 2020, when the residents of the county shelter in Hackensack — where our nonprofit serves free meals to more than 200 people daily, 365 days a year — were relocated to motels for health reasons. Instead of serving dinner to them at the shelter each night, we packed their meals into to-go trays and delivered them to all who had been relocated. As I met some of the individuals and families confined to those motel rooms, I began to understand that most of them were in search of some type of affordable housing.
Oh, once again and unfortunately, HUD does not consider people living in motel rooms as to be homeless. Therefore, they are denied the services HUD is supposed to provide to those experiencing homelessness. By simply excluding this whole group from their definition of homelessness, our government is simply turning its back on them.
Another eye-opener for me came when we served lunches for 27 weeks in Englewood shortly after COVID struck. A woman came to get her meal every day, driving a fairly new car, and she always looked well-dressed.A volunteer commented: “Why does she need a free meal?”
The only thing we knew about her was the outward appearance of her car and clothes. It soon became clear that she was living in her car. In the years since then, I have noticed many, many cars filled with clothing and other items. Look a bit more closely. You may notice cars like these parked in the corners of store and office parking lots at night. It is a fact of life right under our noses.
Open your eyes in Bergen County to our neighbors living in their cars or in tents
Most of us don’t see this as a major issue where we live. But, as with the cars, look around. When you see a tent in odd sections of our county, chances are it is not someone on a camping trip. A car or a tent is not a home.
A shelter is also not a home. Just ask the residents of the Hackensack county shelter if they think where they live is “home” to them. Over the years, I have spoken with hundreds of people who have lived there. Not surprisingly, almost none of them has ever referred to the shelter as “home” the way you or I talk about our home.
Clearly, a couch or motel or car or tent or shelter is NOT a home. All of us, including our government and politicians, need to face this. The fact is, most of us are in denial regarding the extent of homelessness in the county where we live.
Last year our organization alone helped shelter and mentor more than 130 families in Bergen County. That’s 175 parents with 245 children.We all need to open our eyes, see that families facing homelessness are all around us, and acknowledge that this is a real problem that needs to be addressed.The first step is to see. Then we might have the ability, and the will, to act. For more info, join or support our work at Family Promise at bergenfamilypromise.org.
Paul Shackford is board president of Family Promise of Bergen County.
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