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NJ Counts 2016 Reaches Out to Homeless Families, Youth and Veterans
NJ Counts 2016 Reaches Out to Homeless Families, Youth and Veterans
All twenty-one New Jersey counties will participate in NJ Counts 2016, conducting a statewide Point-In-Time Count of the sheltered and unsheltered homeless. The results of the count will continue to guide efforts to end homelessness across the state. The Sussex County Department of Human Services, Division of Community and Youth Services, will assist in coordinating the Count, organized by Monarch Housing Associates.
When: Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Where: Across New Jersey's twenty-one counties
Who will be counting: Networks of organizations, agencies and others that plan community efforts to end homelessness. Factors that will contribute to this year's count of homeless families, youth and veterans include:
- Shelters reporting inability to house homeless families throughout 2015,
- A shortage of rental housing driving up demand and costs,
- Foreclosures causing many owners and renters to lose their homes, and
- The many jobs in New Jersey that do not pay a living wage.
NJ Counts 2016 is designed to understand the nature of New Jersey's homeless population so that the limited resources available can most appropriately meet their needs. NJ Counts 2015 found 10,211 homeless men, women and children across the State of New Jersey. On January 27, 2016 volunteers seek out homeless residents in shelters, woods, under bridges, in vacant buildings and other locations where they are forced to live because there is insufficient affordable or supportive housing available to them.
If anyone is interested in learning more about NJ Counts 2016, please contact Elizabeth Larsen, Sussex County Point-In-Time Coordinator at elarsen@sussex.nj.us or by calling 973-940-5200 ext. 1286.