‘Hoboken Joe’ Online Fundraiser Passes $5K, Homeless Man Back In Apartment

HOBOKEN, NJ — If you take the 14th street ferry in Hoboken, there’s a good chance that you’ve seen “Hoboken Joe” there, selling bottles of water and making the local commute a little brighter with his smile.

But now Hoboken Joe needs the help of his community, an online fundraising campaign claims.

“Joe was born with Cerebral Palsy and Polio and is unable to work a regular job,” the campaign’s organizer, Alicia Rancilio wrote. “He gets money from the government each month but after he pays his rent and bills, he's pretty much out of money for the rest of the month. (The power company recently cut his power because he was late on his payment. He since paid what he owed but another payment will be due soon). Earlier this year he was homeless for a few months and lived in the Hoboken train terminal. He's back in his apartment now but he never wants to have to experience that again.”

Rancilio added:

“Now, Joe's food stamp amount is in jeopardy but he and his social worker are appealing that, but he almost doesn't have enough to pay for the bottled water that he sells… It just seems if Joe has a bit of a cushion, he could get ahead on his bills and would be ok when the unexpected pops up, as it does with all of us.”

As of Sept. 16, the campaign has raised $7,655.

Rancilio – who says she is not related to Joe - stated that she’s handling the campaign on his behalf since he doesn’t own a computer, and is “delivering the donations to him on a weekly basis” in person.

See the online campaign here.

Photo: “Hoboken Joe,” via GoFundMe

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