Mystery Donors Keep Newark Homeless Shelter Open In Heat Wave

NEWARK, NJ — A Newark homeless shelter that closed its doors in the middle of a brutal heat wave earlier this week will get a temporary reprieve after a receiving a large emergency donation, city officials said. The identities of the mysterious benefactors have not been revealed.

On Thursday, as temperatures in Newark approached 90 degrees and a National Weather Service heat advisory warned of “illness and death” for those who couldn’t escape the broiling sun, city officials announced that the homeless shelter at 224-238 Sussex Avenue will remain open until the end of July.

The facility, which is run through the city’s sheltering initiative Homeless Emergency Living Partnership (HELP), provided services for 290 "chronically homeless individuals" in 2017 and 2018. It was originally established as a temporary emergency shelter designed to protect local homeless residents in the frigid New Jersey winter. In particular, the shelter offered an aegis for homeless people in the area around Penn Station, the Public Library, Military Park and Francisco Park, city officials said.

The temporary shelter opened in December 2017 and was slated to close on June 30 with plans to reopen next winter, city officials previously said. But soaring temperatures the week of the closure created a dangerous situation for about 180 shelter residents, who suddenly found themselves left with nowhere to go in the middle of a heat wave, NJ.com reported.

"It's not right for them to put us out like this," one resident told NJ.com. “It's too hot for anybody to be here.”

A reader posted the following op-ed on the Patch Newark site on July 2:

"This is what was happening to the homeless people since early this morning. There are many elderly people at the site at 224 Sussex Ave in Newark. They were shut out of the homeless shelter they were staying in across the street. They have been unable to use the bathroom since this morning and some are diabetics who need to take their insulin which needs to be refrigerated which has been out in the humid weather all day today. Please call as many businesses as you can for donations. Port-a-potties are needed as well as a place for the people to shower, more food is needed as well as water. I contacted the Urban League as well as a Subway here in Newark for help for these People Without Addresses. The park the homeless are staying in was suppose to close today at 6 o'clock, I am not sure if the homeless were helped or refused to leave the park."

But on Thursday, city officials gave the endangered homeless residents a ray of hope: the shelter will remain open through July, and possibly beyond.

“The city has obtained a commitment of funds enabling the shelter to remain open through July and is seeking additional private sector donors to house shelter occupants for a longer period,” municipal officials said.

Newark officials plan to reveal the identity of the unnamed “corporate donors” at a press conference next week.

Ultimately, however, the goal is to help the residents of the shelter move beyond their current situation and get a new lease on life, city officials said.

“Before the March closing date, the city extended the shelter operations and began working to develop a comprehensive plan for sheltering of the chronically homeless and their transition to permanent supportive housing. During this time the city was able to identify funding to keep the shelter open through June. Lacking the resources to solve homelessness by itself, the city's strategy is to engage city, federal, state and county government, local corporations, the Newark Housing Authority, non-profits providing homeless services, philanthropies, colleges and universities, in a collaborative effort to assist homeless individuals and families to move toward independent living and self-sufficiency. Over the past three months, the city has placed 27 sheltered residents in other temporary housing and 9 in permanent housing in collaboration with the Essex County Continuum of Care. In partnership with the NJ Department of Community Affairs, Essex County Continuum of Care, and the Newark Housing Authority, approximately 45 additional housing slots have been identified as a result of a special state voucher program for those diagnosed with both chronic homelessness and severe mental illness.”

• See related article: Newark Gives 50 Homeless Residents Jobs ... And Hope (VIDEO)
• See related article: This New Jersey County Had The Most Homeless Residents In 2017

NEWARK COOLING STATIONS

During the recent heat wave, Newark opened several cooling centers, as well as city pools, the Newark Public Library and Newark Pennsylvania Station to the public, including the local homeless population. Cooling stations that opened last weekend included:

COOLING STATIONS FOR SENIOR CITIZENS

• Bethany Baptist Church Senior Center, 275 West Market Street (entrance: 58 Hartford St.) – M-F, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Kenneth Gibson/Sharpe James Aquatic Recreation Center, 226 Rome Street – M-F, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m./Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Vince Lombardi Center of Hope, 201 Bloomfield Avenue – M-F, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m./Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Nellie Grier Senior Center, 98-104 Maple Avenue – M-F, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

COOLING STATIONS FOR ALL RESIDENTS (Recreational Centers and Public Pools)

• John F. Kennedy Aquatic Center, 211 West Kinney Street, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m./Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Hayes Park West, 179 Boyd Street, M-F, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m./Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Kenneth Gibson/Sharpe James Aquatic Recreation Center, 226 Rome Street – M-F, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m./Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Rotunda Recreational Center, 75 Clifton Avenue, M-F – 9 a.m. to 7 p.m./Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Saint Peter’s Recreational Center/Bo Porter Sports Complex, 378 Lyons Avenue – M-F, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m./Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Boylan Recreational Center, 916 South Orange Avenue – M-F, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m./Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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File Photo: City of Newark (Newark officials open the winter shelter at 224 Sussex Avenue, December 2017)

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