Newark Is Turning An Old School Into A Huge Homeless Shelter

NEWARK, NJ — It was once a school. But soon, it will be a shelter that serves one of the largest populations of people experiencing homelessness in the state of New Jersey.

And in a nutshell, that’s the inspiring transformation that’s happening on Miller Street in Newark.

On Thursday, city officials and developers gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony at the Miller Street Pathways to Housing Center. When it’s complete in September, the 24,000-square-foot facility will provide “24/7” emergency shelter and supportive services all year round for homeless residents of Newark and other nearby Essex County towns.

People in need will get much more than just a roof over their heads. They’ll also have access to a variety of social services that will put them on the pathway to success: transportation, counseling and case management, behavioral health services, nutrition services and more. There will also be a daily “drop in” center where people can bathe or shower, do laundry and eat a hot meal prepared in an on-site, full commercial kitchen.

In all, the shelter will have 166 transitional beds for men, women, and families, with 84 men’s and a men’s activity room, 44 women’s beds and a women’s activity room and 21 beds that can be used when a cold weather-related “Code Blue” is called for in the city. There will also be seven individual suites with 17 beds that can be used for families, quarantines or isolation.

And that’s good news in a city where an estimated 1,859 people were struggling with homelessness in January 2020 – about 86 percent of the entire total in Essex County.

• See related article: Essex County Has Most Homeless In NJ; Evictions Played A Big Role

The new shelter is the latest example of a growing trend in Newark: rehabilitating old buildings and giving them new life.

According to Newark city officials, the Miller Street Elementary School structure was built in the early-1900s and underwent a series of expansions in the 1950s to expand the building’s overall footprint. The elementary school officially closed in 2012. Eventually, developers purchased the building in 2017. And that was the beginning of a five-year saga to transform the property.

Along the way, Claremont Development and the city got a big hand from construction management company Arc Building Partners and Catholic Charities, which has been offering a variety of social services out of the former school.

City of Newark Homelessness Czar Sakinah Hoyte said the new shelter will be a “great example of public, private, and nonprofit collaboration,” a stance that Mayor Ras Baraka agreed with.

“This project is yet another positive milestone in our ongoing community-wide efforts to address and eradicate homelessness and provide critical, low-barrier, transitional support services to the most vulnerable among us,” Baraka said.

“It’s really amazing to see five years of hard work and collaboration come to fruition,” said Max Dorne, a partner at Claremont Development. “We couldn’t be more excited to advance an adaptive re-use project of this magnitude.”

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The Miller Street Pathways to Housing Center is expected to be a big boost in a city that’s been making a concerted effort to give a hand up to homeless residents over the past few years.

In recent years, the city of Newark has launched several initiatives and outreach programs in an effort to help homeless residents, some of whom have ended up in New Jersey after relocating from New York City.

• Newark Raises Bar For Homeless Outreach In Coronavirus Crisis
• Newark Wants To Create 300 Units Of Housing For Homeless
• Free Food, Clothes, Help At Homeless Outreach Event In Lincoln Park
• Newark Gives 50 Homeless Residents Jobs ... And Hope (VIDEO)

Earlier in February, city officials announced that Newark has partnered with five developers and service providers to create 100 transitional, permanent and supportive housing units.

Those chosen to partner in the effort include:

• Monarch Housing Associates / Bridges Outreach, Inc.
• Garden State Episcopal Community Development Corporation / North Jersey Community Research Initiative (NJCRI)
• ETTA Investments LLC / Soldier ON, Urban Agriculture Cooperative, Greater Newark Conservancy, CareSparc Consulting Inc., and The Mental Health Association in New Jersey
• Domus Corporation / Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Newark
• 10th and 11th Street Homes LLC / AIDS Resource Foundation for Children (ARFC)

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