Here’s How Many Homeless People Live In Newark: Report

NEWARK, NJ — Advocates and volunteers tallied the state’s homeless population on a single night last winter as part of the annual “point in time count,” finding 1,695 people experiencing homelessness in Newark.

On Tuesday, Monarch Housing Associates released the results of the 2022 “point in time count,” an annual effort that compiles a wealth of data about the severity and causes of homelessness in the Garden State. During this year’s count – which took place on the evening of Jan. 25 – a total of 8,754 people across the state were experiencing homelessness, researchers said.

Newark – the state’s largest city – routinely finds itself at the top of the list in Essex County on Monarch Housing Associates’ yearly effort. In 2022, Newark had more than 90 percent of the county’s entire total.

The annual report contains a breakdown of other statistics in Essex County, including race, age, disabilities and veteran status. Read More: Essex County Leads NJ In Homelessness; See The Most Common Causes

See the full report and learn about its methodology here. See local data for Essex County here.

Newark officials have made several moves to improve conditions for the city's homeless population over the past few years. According to Mayor Ras Baraka, they include:

HOPE VILLAGE - "The city last year established an emergency shelter called Newark Hope Village, a safe sleeping village allowing the most vulnerable people to stay as long as 90 days and find the pathways to mental health, drug treatment and social services available to them." See Related: Newark Transforms Empty Storage Containers Into Homeless Shelters

SCHOOL TO SHELTER - "Nearly one year ago, the city broke ground on converting the Miller Street Elementary School into a 166-bed transitional facility for men, women and families, complete with social and health services." See Related: Newark Is Turning An Old School Into A Huge Homeless Shelter

DEVELOPER CHALLENGE - "Our Making Housing Homes Challenge is inviting developers to create 200 transitional and permanent housing units to serve our homeless." See Related: Can These 'Tiny Houses' Help Ease Homelessness In Newark?

COVID OUTREACH - "During the height of the COVID pandemic we housed and fed nearly 2,000 homeless men, women and families to minimize the spread of the disease among them. Because of this action their rate of infection was among the lowest of any group in the city." See Related: Newark Raises Bar For Homeless Outreach In Coronavirus Crisis

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