OCEAN COUNTY – Despite concerns about the future of a Code Blue shelter in Toms River’s Riverwood Park Recreation Center, homeless individuals in Ocean County will continue to have access to warm shelter during freezing temperatures.
Ocean County is required by state law to implement and fund Code Blue emergency warming centers. However, the shelters may be operated by non-profit organizations that have experience serving homeless individuals.
The Code Blue activation period runs from November 1 to March 31, with the highest risk of personal harm occurring from December to February.
Last year, the list of Code Blue warming centers included the one facilitated by Just Believe in Riverview Park, and others run by Refuge House of Prayer in Toms River, True Vine Community Service in Bayville and Forked River, and Greater Bethel Church-Faith Fellowship in Lakewood.
Reliable sources have indicated that the county intends to use one of its buildings in the Pleasant Plains section of Toms River to ensure there are enough beds to protect the homeless from extreme cold weather this season.
Authorities have not yet named the non-profit that will facilitate the dedicated county-owned warming center operations. The facility is expected to accommodate between 30 to 50 people.
Ocean County’s budget for Code Blue funding is nearly $400,000 this season. This includes $225,000 from the Board of Commissioners and $130,000 from the New Jersey Division of Family Development. An additional $35,815 represents the first disbursement from the Ocean County Homelessness Trust Fund.
“When we created this trust fund in 2023, one of the key uses for the money was to help fund the Code Blue program which provides overnight warming centers for the homeless when temperatures fall below freezing,” said Director of the Ocean County Board of Commissioners Barbara Jo Crea in a press release. “These centers also provide resources and services needed to put our residents back on the road to self-sufficiency. This is an important step by the Trust Fund’s Task Force that will help our residents.”
Commissioner Frank Sadeghi, liaison to the Department of Human Services, expressed confidence that everyone needing help during the Code Blue season will find it. He said the county expects to have at least 150 Code Blue beds available this season across five warming centers, including the new one which would be owned by the county.
Last season, the highest number of beds used in a single night was 85, which was 55 percent of the county’s total capacity. With a projected 30 percent increase in demand for the upcoming season, the county plans to provide at least 110 beds at peak times.
NJCounts is New Jersey’s annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Conducted in the last ten days of January, it tracks individuals and families experiencing homelessness, including those in emergency shelters, transitional housing, safe havens, or living on the streets.
While the final numbers for the January 2024 PIT Count are not yet available, 2023 data reveals that Ocean County had 302 households, comprising 434 people, experiencing homelessness. Notably, 108 of the total number of households cited domestic violence as a significant factor contributing to their homelessness. Toms River reported the highest number, with 48 percent of the county’s homeless population, followed by Lakewood at 15.1 percent.
Toms River Mayor Daniel Rodrick has said that he does not believe that all of the homeless individuals within the community are Toms River natives, and that this town shouldn’t bear the burden for the region.
“Toms River will no longer be a depository for the county’s homeless,” he told The Toms River Times. “The prior administration allowed a homeless camp to grow and fester. My administration is working with the (State Department of Community Affairs) on a plan to clear out the camp. Just Believe brought nearly 300 homeless people into Toms River from all over Monmouth and Ocean County last year. If the liberal do-gooders on the County Board of Commissioners move forward on this, we will take legal action against them and Just Believe. We will not let them turn Toms River into San Francisco!”
The County Commissioners are all Republican.
The Homelessness Trust Fund is supported by a $5 surcharge on most recorded documents with the Ocean County Clerk’s Office. This money is used to fund local programs, with $2 of each surcharge specifically allocated for the Code Blue program.
Crea pointed out that state guidelines restrict the use of these funds from being used to build a homeless shelter. Ocean County has faced criticism for not having a county-run shelter. Earlier this year, the Board of Commissioners allocated $12.5 million from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to non-profits to help prevent homelessness and support the unhoused. The funds include provisions for transitional housing.
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