Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus and Howell Township Police Athletic League Team Up to Serve the Homeless

Geraldine Smith, Administrative Director of Perioperative Services at Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus (MMCSC), and members of her staff teamed up with Sgt. Chris Hill, brother of Thelma Hill, LPN, MMCSC Endoscopy Unit, and the Howell Township Police Athletic League (PAL) Youth Leadership Council to help homeless people living in an encampment in the woods off Route 9 in Howell Township.

During the visit, led by encampment founder and resident Rev. Steve Brigham of the Lakewood Outreach Ministry Church, PAL members and MMCSC staff prepared and served meals and donated clothing. They also helped replace the tarp roof of the community’s house of worship that had been removed by high winds. Rev. Brigham had previously founded and operated Tent City, a large community of homeless people living together in a wooded area of Lakewood. In July 2015 Tent City was shut down. In response, Rev. Brigham established the Howell encampment to continue to give the less fortunate a place to go.

“The Police Athletic League is an amazing organization and we are so proud to have partnered with them to give back to our local community,” said Geraldine Smith, Administrative Director of Perioperative Services at MMCSC. “The employees of the perioperative department demonstrated our commitment to being active members of the surrounding communities. We appreciate their work and their desire to help the less fortunate.”

The Howell Township PAL is a non-profit organization whose mission is to foster positive relationships among the youth and police officers in the community. It was established in 1979 by police officers who sought to create a better understanding between the police force and young members of the community. Using athletics, recreation, education and community service, PAL provides a safe outlet for kids to reach their potential in the community. The Howell PAL Leadership Youth Council is a program designed to educate the community’s youth be the leaders of tomorrow through volunteering and life skills training. Members of the Leadership Youth Council have been with the Howell PAL for 17 years which is a true testament to the positive work being done by this organization.

About Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus

Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus is an acute-care community hospital located in Lakewood, Ocean County. An RWJBarnabas Health facility, Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus merged with Monmouth Medical Center, a teaching hospital located in Long Branch, Monmouth County, in 2014. The hospitals are dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the communities they proudly serve through expanded access to specialty outpatient services that focus on preventive medicine and healthy living. The partnership has also expanded patients' access to geriatric and pediatric emergency services, as well as outpatient neurology, oncology and geriatric services. Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus has converted to all private rooms, which makes it the only provider in the region with all private rooms for overnight stays. For more information about Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus, visit www.barnabashealth.org/mmcsc.