General assistance doubles and the number of homeless increase
By: Jennifer Potash
The number of adults receiving general assistance has more than doubled in the Princetons in recent months and more adults have become homeless here.
As of July 31, there were 17 general assistance cases in Princeton Borough and Princeton Township. About five of those individuals do not have a permanent residence and are now placed in temporary housing in Brunswick Avenue motels, said Cynthia Mendez, director of the joint Princeton Human Services Department.
A typical caseload for the Princetons would be about six individuals with one or two people lacking a permanent residence, she said.
"Usually for every case I begin, I normally close one out," she said.
That has not been the case of late.
Local assistance is provided for single adults, Ms. Mendez explained. For adults with children, assistance may be obtained from the Mercer County Board of Social Services.
The state’s welfare reform initiative in 1997 established work requirements and a five-year lifetime cap on cash assistance.
Ms. Mendez says a slowing economy, with more and more businesses eliminating jobs, is a factor with the local increase in cases.
"I am concerned we will be seeing more homeless people in Princeton," she said.
Connie Mercer, director of HomeFront, a Lawrence Township-based organization that assists homeless and financially needy families, said the waiting room is typically filled with homeless families, the majority of whom are employed.
"The cost of housing is skyrocketing while the number of people eligible for government assistance is down by half," Ms. Mercer said.
Princeton has had a mostly stable homeless population, Ms. Mendez said.
"They occasionally wander down here for services," she said.
There are usually two or three individuals, mostly men, who may sleep on borough streets, said Police Capt. Anthony Federico.
During early morning walks downtown, Mary Agnes Procaccino, a member of the Princeton Human Services Commission, observed apparently homeless individuals sleeping in doorways, she said at a recent commission meeting.
The police have received occasional complaints of people in doorways and will ask them to move along, Capt. Federico said. If someone is sleeping on a public bench, the officers may check on the person but won’t ask them to move, he said.
In May, an individual was breaking into the basements of borough houses and businesses looking for a place to sleep, he said.
The Princeton Public Library has been a destination for the homeless in the Princetons, said Tim Quinn, spokesman for the library. The library does not bar admission to individuals who are not card-holders, he said.
"They’re always welcome here," he said.
Some arrive when the library opens and stay until the building closes, Mr. Quinn said.
Housing opportunities, even temporary ones, can be few and far between, officials said.
There are shelters in Trenton, but few temporary or transitional housing units, Ms. Mercer said.
A coalition of local houses of worship, in conjunction with HomeFront, sought to acquire a borough-owned rental property on Leigh Avenue and convert the space to temporary housing for financially strapped families, such as the working poor and families on welfare, to get control of their finances and move into permanent housing in a year.
The proposal fell apart after residents in the John-Witherspoon neighborhood expressed concerns about the most densely populated neighborhood in the borough being the first place sought for these types of housing programs. Also, Princeton Borough was facing some pressure by the state to make improvements to the Leigh Avenue units in order to keep renting them, according to Borough Administrator Robert Bruschi.
The coalition is working with the Human Services Commission and Princeton Township on the possibility of using an empty housing unit in Griggs Farm for transitional housing, Ms. Mendez said.
Many suburban communities have been oblivious to the need for temporary housing, viewing homelessness as an urban problem, Ms. Mercer said.
But there are resources in Princeton for families and individuals in need.
Crisis Ministry, with locations at Nassau Presbyterian Church and in Trenton, provides a food pantry as well as clothing and shelter, Ms. Mendez said.
The ministry, run by the Rev. Sally Osmer, is a true blessing, Ms. Mendez said.
"When I can’t enroll a family, or a woman with kids, Crisis Ministry is right there to help," she said.
A fund for emergency assistance for homeless individuals in the Princetons was established by the Borough Council in 1999 at the suggestion of the Princeton Clergy Association and Borough Councilman Roger Martindell.
Currently, the fund is helping a borough resident with housing costs and an individual receiving general assistance who is living at Mount’s Motel on Brunswick Avenue in Lawrence, Mr. Martindell said.
The fund has amassed $19,929 and paid out $12,475, with $7,454 on hand, said Decimus Marsh, chief finance officer for Princeton Borough.
The limitations of available housing and financial assistance does take a toll on the assistance providers.
Several weeks ago, Ms. Mendez said, a homeless woman with several children, including one with mental and physical disabilities, turned up in her office. The woman, 37, had lost her housing in Trenton and been sent to several social-service providers in Trenton and Princeton, Ms. Mendez said.
As the woman did not qualify for general assistance and there were no housing available in Mercer, Somerset, Middlesex or Monmouth counties, Ms. Mendez was at a loss to help the woman, who planned to stay with her children in her car.
"It was so frustrating that I could not help her," Ms. Mendez said.
She never came back to the Human Services Department, Ms. Mendez said.
"I pray that she found some place to stay"
For more information about the borough’s homeless trust fund, call Councilman Roger Martindell at (609) 921-3355. To make a donation, checks should be made out to the Princeton Borough Homeless Housing Trust Fund and sent to Borough Hall, P.O. Box 390, Princeton NJ 08542.