World Homeless Day In Newark: Outreach Continues In NJ's Largest City

NEWARK, NJ — The City of Newark, elected officials and a local nonprofit were among those who recognized “World Homeless Day” with outreach and community building last week.

World Homeless Day is an event dedicated to raising awareness about homelessness and advocating for solutions to end housing and food insecurity. It’s an issue that is especially relevant in Newark – New Jersey’s largest city – where the number of people experiencing homelessness routinely leads the county.

In an effort to help address this need, Newark Emergency Services for Families (NESF) – a nonprofit that helps connect people with emergency food, clothes, shelter and other basic needs – organized its fifth annual day of service in Lincoln Park on Oct. 11.

People experiencing homelessness were able to get help with mental health support, substance abuse treatment, housing assistance, job placement resources and direct services at the free community fair, which also included health screenings, HIV testing, clothing, free haircuts and care packages.

The nonprofit partnered with U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver (NJ-10) and other local community-based agencies, businesses, shelters and providers for the effort.

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‘AN IMMENSE AMOUNT OF WORK TO DO’

The City of Newark also acknowledged the annual day of action last week, giving a round of applause for the Newark Office of Homeless Services and its street outreach team.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka issued the following statement to commemorate World Homeless Day, noting that the city has made big strides – but still has lots of work to do:

“A year and a half ago, our administration launched ‘The Path Home,’ a three-year plan to end chronic homelessness in the City of Newark. We are nearly halfway through this comprehensive, data-driven plan, which focuses on empowering residents lacking addresses with new housing pathways, integrated medical and clinical support, innovative technology for dashboard analytics and hotline texting, and expanded services. One year into our initiative, we reached a 57.6 percent reduction in the city’s unsheltered population.

“However, as impressive as this statistic is, it reminds us that we have far to go, not only as a city, but as a nation and society in general. In our neighborhoods and across the world, millions of people lack decent homes. This crisis must be solved both locally and globally by eliminating the many conditions that cause homelessness in the first place.

“I am proud of what we have achieved with ‘The Path Home,’ but World Homeless Day reminds us that we have an immense amount of work to do here in Newark, within our region, and across our nation. It is a day to renew our commitment to work towards solutions that bring stability and comfort into the lives of those who need it most.”

• See Related: Newark Sees Huge Drop In Unsheltered Homeless Population, State Says
• See Related: Help Is A Text Message Away: Homelessness In Newark

Essex County – which is home to Newark and nearly two dozen other municipalities – routinely leads the state in the number of homeless residents, other research shows.

There were 1,712 people experiencing homelessness in Essex County on the evening of Jan. 24, 2023 – about 17 percent of the entire state’s total. The vast majority of them (1,361 people) were counted in Newark, according to Monarch Housing Associates.

When asked why they were homeless, the most commonly cited reason was “being asked to leave a shared residence” (35 percent). The next most-common reasons were “eviction or risk of eviction” (20%), and “loss or reduction of job income” (9%).

• See Related: Essex County's Homeless Total Drops, But Still Leads New Jersey, Study Says

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