By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
The transformation of a dingy, former U.S. Navy facility opposite the Trenton-Mercer Airport into a beacon of hope for homeless families was completed Wednesday morning with the snip of a ribbon by HomeFront representatives.
Several hundred supporters of HomeFront, which is a Lawrence Township-based nonprofit group that helps the homeless and the working poor, gathered for the grand opening of the HomeFront Family Campus on a bright, sunny morning.
The visitors were treated to a tour of the 42,000-square-foot building that sits on an 8.5-acre parcel. There are counseling rooms, classrooms, a large computer room and a smaller one, a child-care center, an art room and a teaching kitchen with five stations on the first two floors of the building. There are eight bedrooms for men and their children on the lowest level.
On the third floor, there are 30 bedrooms for women and their children. The top floor also features offices for the family advocates who help the clients, plus a small family lounge and a large library with an oversized glass window. And as a special treat, there is a small salon for the ladies.
HomeFront’s new Family Campus will bring together an assortment of community partners — from WomanSpace for victims of domestic violence to Family Guidance for those who need help with mental health issues — to help the clients, all under one roof. The issue of transportation from a shelter to agency offices has been eliminated.
It also allows for an expansion of current services, such as job training and art therapy programs. The teaching kitchen will allow clients to learn about nutrition and cooking, and also practice culinary arts skills they may learn in preparation for a job.
A pilot program is in the works to expand the child-care center to offer care around the clock, which will allow clients to take a job on the midnight shift. Sometimes, it is necessary to take a job on a late night shift in order to move on to a job on a day or evening shift.
But it was not an easy task to acquire the building. It took more than seven years to acquire the property, and more than a year to complete the transformation into the bright and airy home for the 38 families that will stay there until they get back on their feet. The building was given to HomeFront for free.
At the Wednesday morning ceremony, state Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Chuck Richman told the attendees that transforming the building into a facility that could give hope to the client families is something that Connie Mercer, HomeFront’s founder and executive director, “believes in.”
Mr. Richman said Ms. Mercer told him that she was going to figure out how to acquire the empty building and create a new campus for HomeFront. He said he visited the property, “but I did not have her vision.” Nevertheless, he said, he had faith that Ms. Mercer could “pull it off.”
Don Hofmann, who chaired the fundraising committee for the $6 million project, said Ms. Mercer came to him a little less than two years ago and asked for his help in raising the money. It took many people to get to this point, he said. There were more than 1,000 donors — corporations and individuals.
Larry Rogers of the David Tepper Charitable Foundation told the attendees that it, too, was approached by Ms. Mercer for help. Convinced of the need for the project, the foundation issued a $1 million 2-for-1 challenge to raise money — if HomeFront could raise $500,000, the foundation would match it dollar for dollar, up to $1 million.
And it did.
“For our society, places like this need to exist so people can have a second chance,” Mr. Rogers said. “A second chance is very important. There has to be a place (where people are offered) dignity and warmth. This place has both.”
A beaming Ms. Mercer wrapped up the ceremony by praising Celia Bernstein, HomeFront’s chief financial officer, the staff, donors and other supporters for their help in making HomeFront’s new campus more than a dream.
“We have transformed an old, ugly Naval base into this new, beautiful ‘forever home’ for HomeFront and our families,” Ms. Mercer said. “But now it is time to fill its rooms with the energy, the education, the support and the love it takes to transform lives.”
“I know we will do it. I know it will happen, because of all of you — the staff, our friends, our colleagues and supporters who have said so loud and clear that this is the right thing to do. Ain’t no stopping us now,” Ms. Mercer said.
“Let us cut the ribbon,” she said.
