TOMS RIVER – The Ocean County Board of Commissioners recently appointed the first round of Ocean County Homelessness Trust Fund task force members.
Government officials and representatives from five local non-profit organizations make up the first round of individuals whose first order of business will be to establish by-laws with the assistance of county counsel for approval by the Commissioner Board.
The initial wave of three-year appointments to the task force includes Barbara “Bobbi Jo” Crea, Director of the Ocean County Board of Commissioners, liaison to the Homelessness Trust Fund. Also among the appointees are Tracy Maksel, Director of the Ocean County Department of Human Services, and Maria LaFace, Director of the Ocean County Office of Senior Services.
Five representatives from local private or non-profit organizations known for their work in assisting the homeless or providing low-income housing have also been appointed to serve three-year terms. These include Mark Harding from Soldier On, Steve Heisman from Habcore, Glen McDonald from Homes for All, Elizabeth Golla from Family Promise, and Kim Santora from Toms River Housing and Homeless.
“All of these individuals bring a great deal of expertise and compassion to the table,” Crea said. “They will look at the issues faced by our seniors, veterans, families, and individuals struggling with homelessness, and together, we will make the best decisions on how to fund programs that will provide the most help.”
Joining these government officials and non-profit representatives for one-year terms will be three municipal business administrators: Joanne Bergin from Brick, Patrick Donnelly of Lakewood, and Jonathan Salonis from Toms River. These appointments specifically target the municipalities with the highest homeless populations, according to the results of last year’s Point-in-Time count. This is when social workers and volunteers met with homeless throughout the state to get an accurate count of who they are, where they are, and what their needs are.
When the 2024 data is counted, said Maksel, “We may need to add additional municipalities depending on those numbers because we are required to have the municipalities that represent the largest homeless populations.”
The task force will also be further enhanced with additional appointments in the future. These appointments will be staggered to ensure a smooth transition and continuity of expertise within the group, avoiding a situation where all members begin and end their terms at the same time.
State law requires the task force to include at least three individuals who have lived experiences with homelessness. To achieve this, Maksel suggested replicating the process used when selecting reviewers for the Ocean County Opioid Advisory Council settlement funds. This involved an open solicitation for applications. However, the final decision on choosing representatives who were formerly homeless rests with the task force itself.
“There are certain organizations that we did not purposefully include in the inaugural board membership because they have such a large base of volunteers who might qualify,” Maksel added. “We figured those volunteers would want to apply to be the persons with lived experience at the table. We can’t have more than one representative from each agency.”
Homeless people got their hair cut for free during a Code Blue night at the temporary shelter run by Just Believe. (Photo courtesy Just Believe)
Trust Fund And Responsibilities
After years of urging from nonprofits, Ocean County joined a growing list of New Jersey counties with the establishment of its own Homelessness Trust Fund last year. The initiative, authorized by the 2009 “County Homelessness Trust Fund Act,” empowers counties to create dedicated funding streams to address the needs of homeless residents.
The legislation has already seen success in twelve other New Jersey counties, including Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, Passaic, Somerset, and Union.
“Starting in September 2023, Ocean County now applies a $5 surcharge on most recorded instruments with the county, which the Ocean County Clerk’s office deposited into the Homelessness Trust Fund,” said Crea. “The money stays in Ocean County to support programs and has raised $91,056 to date.”
Projections based on the past three years of recorded documents suggest the Ocean County Homelessness Trust Fund could generate between $275,000 and $390,000 annually.
State law requires the Trust Fund to disburse money through competitive grants to organizations fighting homelessness through various means. This includes helping homeless people find permanent homes, stopping homelessness before it happens, and providing Code Blue temporary shelter during severe weather.
The Department of Human Services oversees the county’s administration and planning related to homelessness, while the Ocean County Board of Social Services serves as a direct service provider, offering essential support such as temporary shelter and utilities assistance.
“One of our visions from the county side is to pick up where ineligibility is a problem for the already existing system of care,” shared Maksel. “We want to target the focus on things that can’t be served elsewhere.”
A key challenge for existing programs is that some residents experiencing homelessness fall outside eligibility criteria due to income levels. Social Security benefits or even low-paying jobs can push them above the threshold for many publicly funded services. The task force will explore ways to bridge these gaps for this population – albeit with a limited pool of money.
The Ocean County Homelessness Trust Fund task force will collaborate closely with the Ending Homeless Team associated with Monarch Housing, acknowledged as premier consultants in the state for addressing homelessness. Monarch Housing also extends its expertise to the HUD Continuum of Care Process for Ocean County.
As the task force partners with the consultant, their primary objective is to craft a strategic plan to combat homelessness effectively. This will most likely entail community engagement initiatives such as focus groups and surveys to pinpoint key areas of concern. Once these priorities are identified, the task force will release a solicitation outlining the precise scope of work for organizations seeking grants.
Non-profit groups with task force members will be able to submit grant applications for review. However, they will be required to abstain from voting on matters pertaining to their own organizations.
“Anything we fund, we have to be able to prove that it measurably reduces homelessness and that it has cost savings over time,” Maksel explained. “It has to be evidence-based, the ability to be replicated in other communities and align with local homeless plans as well as the county homeless plan.”
Maksel said that the team at Human Services had attempted to bring a Homelessness Trust Fund to Ocean County for over a decade and credited Crea for “quarterbacking it to a win.”
Funds Won’t Go To Homeless Shelter
Alex Boss of Toms River was present at the Ocean County Commissioners meeting when the inaugural task force members were appointed. He called the creation of the fund a great start but expressed a concern that regularly comes up at county government meetings.
“I’m somewhat surprised and disappointed to hear that there are no plans for a shelter,” said Boss. “As someone who has volunteered with community groups and the makeshift shelters that have been set up for this crisis, I’ve seen how dire the situation is for these individuals firsthand.”
“It is a great start,” Boss continued. “But I would like to hear why there are no plans to build a shelter in regard to this trust and also what’s being done in the interim to help these people now.”
Crea reiterated the county’s stance that it will not undertake the construction or operation of a shelter and clarified that the allocated funds cannot be utilized for such purposes. However, she affirmed the county’s willingness to collaborate with non-profit organizations interested in establishing a shelter independently. Crea proposed that multiple organizations explore the possibility of working together and assured that the county would offer financial support towards this initiative.
“The Homelessness Trust Fund will complement whatever the system of care evolves to be and live in perpetuity,” added Maksel. “So, if a shelter came to fruition, this could enhance it or help people at the shelter.”
Individuals seeking housing assistance are advised to contact 211, the state-funded universal hotline dedicated to providing resources. Additionally, the Ocean County Board of Social Services stands ready to aid those with housing concerns.
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