Camden County Develops Plan To Combat Homelessness, Income Inequality

There are between 500 and 600 homeless people in Camden County on any given day, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. There is also a clear case of income inequality in the county.

Patch developed a list of all New Jersey towns and their median household incomes, derived from the most recent data released from the U.S. Census. The statistics from the American Community Survey from 20011-2015 show a great disparity in wealth between the richest and the poorest throughout the state, with the county serving as a microcosm of this issue.

While the median income in Haddonfield is $128,440, the median income in Camden ranks among the lowest in the state at $25,042.

The numbers were published one day after county officials announced their six-point plan to address the issue of homelessness. The plan includes progressive programs and partnerships, and addresses not just the homeless, but also those just getting by, living in fear of becoming homeless at any moment due to the loss of a paycheck or sale of a property.

Officials describe the new programs as a “holistic approach that encompass all facets of the many challenges related to this endemic issue.” It will address a spectrum of needs, from 24-hour access to social workers to seasonal employment for those seeking work.

“We have a moral imperative to aid the most vulnerable members of our community and help them stabilize themselves by getting them off the street and into permanent housing,” Camden County Freeholder Carmen Rodriguez, liaison to the Health Department, said. “These programs, whether it is prison re-entry or access to our Office of Mental Health and Addiction, when operating together, with organizations coordinating with each other, will ensure a higher success rate and save taxpayers money.”

The plan addresses employment, services from the Office of Mental Health and Addiction and an expansion of the county’s Housing First program. Volunteers of America and a variety of other organizations will also work with the county to provide more professional assistance to the population. Multiple agencies, nonprofits and advocates will help the county with its plan.

“Bringing these services under one consolidated roof is not only for the unsheltered, but we have hundreds of people who are couch surfing or staying in motels that could lose the roof over their head at any given moment,” Rodriguez said. “These resources that we are bringing to bear will enable us to not only provide shelter, but to give individuals the ability to gain dignity through employment, wrap-around services and most importantly stability.”

Volunteers of America, who is spearheading the re-entry and navigator program. Chief Operating Officer Pat McKernan said increasing services for vulnerable populations, whether it be from jail or in the homeless population, will be beneficial to the community.

“Volunteers of America is thrilled to be expanding services in Camden County serving the homeless and people returning from the criminal justice system,” McKernan said. ‘We are looking forward to working with the Freeholder Board and other partners in this important effort.”

Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli spoke about the importance of the county’s newly formed Office of Mental Health and Addiction as being timely and proactive in the mission to end homelessness.

“Our objective is to ensure our community knows that we can get them to a place where they can obtain the mental health and substance abuse services they need,” Cappelli said. “We can provide one place to call. A unified information and referral system and a combined professional association.”

He also addressed the impact of the public health crisis as a catalyst for homelessness in the community.

“We know that opioids and heroin have played a significant role for many who are homeless, furthermore many of those same individuals have concurring challenges with behavior health as well,” Cappelli said. “Both challenges, left untreated, can create destructive and dire consequences that result in homelessness. Now, we can leverage not just government resources, but the full weight of our combined partnerships behind the services needed to create stability for individuals and create better outcomes.”

Community Planning and Advocacy Council President and CEO Diana Cooper said her organization is honored to serve in the continuum of care for people that are experiencing homelessness.

“We cannot just talk about it, we have to be about it,” Cooper said. “Camden County adopted the Covenant for Children, Youth and Families with the Bill of Rights for all families. The first two rights strongly support the Housing First model, which includes the right to a permanent home.”

There is some good news for the county on this front. There was a rise in household incomes and a 10 percent drop in the county poverty rate from 2015-16, according to numbers released by the U.S. Census.

"We continue to see all of our main indicators improving, including job growth, income expansion and private investment," Cappelli said on Thursday. "In the city, we have seen the largest drop in poverty throughout the region, which can be attributed to billions of dollars in new investment, creating new jobs and feeding the local economy. The city has also seen a drop in homicides, higher graduation rates and an unprecedented amount of private investment.

"We know that the region has had record job growth from the last two reports from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and much of that can be traced back to the building boom going on in our county and the city. This is also a testament to businesses like Holtec International whose CEO, Dr. Kris Singh, has committed to making Camden a company town and the UOSS for their dedication to training residents to be skilled craftsmen in order to build these new state-of-the-art corporate campuses, schools and small businesses.

"This Census report supplies more support for the work being done in the county and how it is assisting families and residents here. It also is a positive sign for our local labor force and core institutions who continue to do admirable work to create fertile grounds for investment and expansion for business and housing development. In the years to come Camden County will continue to be and, further evolve into, the economic hub of South Jersey."

To view the full list of the median income in each New Jersey town, click here.

Photo via Pixabay