Essex County Shelter ‘Financially Tapped Out,’ 108 People At Risk

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — After having served more than 200,000 of the most in-need people in Essex County, an East Orange-based shelter has put out a desperate call for the same help it’s given to so many of its clients over the years.

Isaiah House, which serves Newark, the Oranges and the surrounding area, is “financially tapped out” due to withheld government funding and a decline in charitable donations, its staff say.

The stakes are high… 108 people stand to lose one of the only things standing between them and life on the streets, according to Isaiah House executive director Zammeah Bivins-Gibson.

But if the shelter doesn’t manage to make ends meet, more is at risk than just those families, Bivins-Gibson told Patch.

“If Isaiah House is forced to shut its doors, 82 of the most dedicated social service employees - many of whom have been at Isaiah House for 10 to 20 years - would become unemployed,” she said. “22 women with HIV would lose the medical care support and social advocacy they have relied on from Isaiah House… 12 homeless, unaccompanied teen aged boys would return to the system and have their education, stability and normalcy disrupted… the nearly 74 families per week that we provide with food via our food pantry would have to travel outside of their community to obtain the sustenance they need to feed their families… the children we provide day care would be uprooted… the nearly 60 disabled/mentally challenged adults who rely on our case management, advocacy and rental assistance would lose their independence and their apartments… those who attend our weekly Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous meetings would have to go elsewhere… the eight moms who have supervised parenting privileges at Isaiah House would lose custody of their children… the list goes on and on.”

In addition, Isaiah House is only shelter in Essex County that allows fathers to stay with their families, the organization states.

Learn more about the shelter here.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Bivins-Gibson provided the following statement to Patch about how the shelter fell on such tough times.

“Over the last 5 years, Isaiah House has lost over $2 million in funding due to changes to HUD practices and policies which are now only focused on permanent housing programs… As a shelter, the majority of our programs focus on transitional housing needs and as a result of HUD’s new policies, essential programs at Isaiah House were discontinued and people were left to fend for themselves.”

The changes in HUD policy also resulted in an immediate loss of $1.8 million dollars in funding for housing and services Isaiah House provided to homeless unaccompanied teenagers, fragile families, women with HIV and single moms and their babies who require special care, she said.

Bivins-Gibson continued:

“What funding we do receive is not guaranteed year to year and agencies such as ours are often subject to delays in reimbursement of payments which can have a domino effect. The HUD policy changes have hurt us so severely that in order for Isaiah House to survive, we will need a minimum of an additional $350,000 to $400,000 annually.”

The funding is needed to cover facility costs, insurances and salaries that are not covered by other funding sources, Bivins-Gibson said.

WHAT CAN BE DONE?

Isaiah House has several ways that local leaders and members of the community can help, Bivins-Gibson said.

“The most important thing members of the community can do is prioritize the vital services Isaiah House offers to the city and to put pressure on members of the Chamber of Commerce to make Isaiah House a priority when they make decisions regarding their philanthropic commitments to the city,” she posited.

Make an online donation to the shelter here.

Other ways the local community can help include:

• “Donations of food, clothing, cleaning supplies, bulk food, office supplies, free services such as cleaning, inspections, gas cards, money - anything that would reduce our budget costs. We receive some assistance from community members but with the amount of people Isaiah House serves, these donations are disbursed relatively quickly.”
• “Local leaders or professionals can offer to sponsor or provide free workshops, trainings sessions or field trips. We are mandated by the state to provide these programs to our residents but they can often come at a high cost.”
• “Visiting and volunteering your time at Isaiah House”
• “Making it a priority to include Isaiah House as a partner for fundraising opportunities”

Photos: Lisa Rayman Goldfarb Photography

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com