Meals On Wheels, Domestic Violence Shelters Get Help From Brick Community Block Grants

BRICK, NJ — Community organizations support a variety of needs within Brick Township, from feeding homebound seniors to helping families that are escaping domestic violence to being an encouraging voice for someone struggling with immense pain.

It's work that takes money. While much of the labor is done by volunteers, financial support helps get the work done, from providing meals to putting a roof over someone's head temporarily.

To help support the work of organizations that help residents, Brick Township distributes grant funding it receives through the federal Community Development Block Grant program.

The 2023 distribution totaled $46,376.85, with the amounts announced at the Township Council meeting on July 25.

"This is the best night we have here in THown all because it gives us the opportunity to honor people who work around our town and be able to assist them to continue that work," Mayor Lisa Crate said, adding the organizations provide basic essential needs to residents.

Crate said the township received $101,500 in requests to help programs.

Here are the organizations that received funding, and the programs they offer to help the community. (Click on the links in each organization's name for information on how you can help.)

Community Services Meals on Wheels: $10,000. The program delivered more than 35,000 meals to homebound seniors in Brick in 2022, according to Wyatt Earp, president of the board of directors. Meals are delivered Monday through Friday, along with weekends for those who have no other contact or support. And while the deliveries provide healthy food for the seniors, they just as importantly provide contact and community. Earp said a survey showed 62 percent of those receiving the meals say they have fewer trips to doctors and fewer hospitalizations, 88 percent say receiving the meals makes them feel less lonely and 98 percent are more confident about living independently because of the meal deliveries. In addition to the meal deliveries, they have reinstated the Community Cafes, where seniors 60 and over who are able to travel can come for a hot meal, activities, health screenings and time to socialize. That program was paused during the pandemic.

Providence House: $10,000. The organization provides services to women and their children escaping domestic violence. There is a 24-hour hotline, individual and group counseling, specialized children's programs, and an emergency safe house that can house up to 27 women and their children, said Rachel Johnston, Providence House-Ocean’s community affairs manager. "We are currently at 33 clients," she said adding that at one point in January they had 166 clients. In addition to helping women in emergency situations, they provide legal advocacy for women who are navigating the courts as they leave a domestic violence situation. They assisted 250 women in Brick with those needs last year. "Our program is extremely busy all the time," Johnston said.

Caregiver Volunteers of Central Jersey: $5,000. The organization provides nutrition and companionship, transportation to doctors' offices, along with other support services for seniors "to help them continue to live in their homes," said Megan O'Keefe, executive director. The organization recently launched another program to offer free handyman services for minor repairs and the like — "nothing with permits," she said — and is offering free Lyft and Uber rides to medical appointments. The group assists more than 300 seniors in Brick.

Ocean's Harbor House, $5,000. To assist homeless youth kicked out of their homes or fleeing abusive situations.

The Arc: $3,000. The organization provides a number of services for intellectually disabled adults. Matthew Brady, assistant executive director of Vocational Services, said the funding will be used in their Journeys and Discovery program that helps clients train for employment that can lead to a living wage, and helping them find positions they can grow into.

CONTACT of Ocean and Monmouth Counties, $3,000. The crisis intervention and suicide prevention hotline has been operating since Dec. 1, 1975 and averages 25,000 calls per year now. Kim Bessler Santora, the executive director, said volunteers who staff the line connect people to resources they may not know exist, and provide a connection for those who feel lonely. "We have individuals who have been calling us for years and they call us every day," she said. "We are the only social interaction they have."

Big Brothers, Big Sisters, $3,000. The organization connects mentors with children in professionally supported 1-on-1 relationships that aim to help kids reach their potential as adults.

Brick Morning Rotary, $2,076.85. Charlie Bacon, the group's treasurer, said the Morning Rotary group provides a wide range of support to other organizations in town. One of its biggest efforts is the Shore Movement Food Drive, which collects food donations at a variety of businesses that are then given to food pantries to bolster their supplies. The group also collects toys at the holidays for needy children, and in 2022 delivered 5,500 new toys to various organizations in Brick to brighten the holidays for kids.

Interfaith Family Services (formerly Interfaith Hospitality Network), $1,400. Daniel Wilson, executive director, said the organization is focused on helping homeless families with children get back to stability. Wilson said he has personally lived it; his family was helped by Interfaith 17 years ago, he said.

Jersey Shore Council Boy Scouts, $1,400. John Barilla, the senior development director of the council's summer camp program, said the funding is used to assist kids who cannot afford it attend the weeklong camp, which teaches leadership skills and gives them a variety of experiences with swimming, sports, crafts and more.

Dottie's House, $1,300. Mary Furmato, who serves on the board, said the funds will be used to support temporary shelter for the program, which assists women and their children escaping domestic violence. The organization provides a 2-year transitional housing program that helps women become self-sufficient so they can break free of the cycle of violence. The program, which has been operating for more than 20 years, currently has 17 families.

The funding provided to the organizations comes from funding Brick Township receives as part of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant – Public Services Program.