The Rev. Terrance Porter, president of the Red Bank Affordable Housing Corp., discusses the borough’s Cedar Crossing Project at a luncheon on Nov. 12 dedicated to raising awareness about the issue of affordable housing in Monmouth County. STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER KAYLA J MARSH A network of nonprofits and faith communities are combining resources to broadcast the message that the shortage of affordable housing is a crisis that denies people on every level the opportunity to live in local communities.
“This has been a crisis in Monmouth County for many years,” Carolyn Eyerman, executive director of Eatontown-based Love INC [in the Name of Christ], said at “Bringing People Home,” a forum focused on how to make housing opportunity more widely available.
“When we talk about affordable housing it’s interesting that it has such a bad name, and yet what we are talking about is our college graduates, we’re talking about those people who should have the opportunity to live in our communities, but in many cases do not.”
At the event, hosted by New Creations in Christ, Red Bank, and Habitat for Humanity in Monmouth County on Nov. 12, Eyerman said the vision of the New Creations board is to bring advocates together to make a difference and to broadcast the message that the shortage of affordable housing is a crisis.
“At Love INC, we had 768 calls for housing alone last year, so far this year 524,” she said. “What we are seeing day in and day out … is a decrease in the population in the state of New Jersey. … We are seeing seniors who cannot afford to live here.
Eyerman said that in order to make a change and help those in need, nonprofits, faith communities, elected officials and other public entities have to band together and make their voices heard.
“Every day we hear the people and their cry for help,” she said. “Every day we listen to those who have so little and need so much … and we give them hope, hope that they can succeed.”
Among the participants were: New Beginnings Agape Church, Freehold; the Fair Share Housing Center, Cherry Hill; and the Monmouth Advocacy Team, Red Bank. One group making a difference is the Red Bank Affordable Housing Corp.
“We can make a difference, but we can do more in partnership than we can do in isolation,” said the Rev. Terrance Porter, president of the Red Bank Affordable Housing Corp. and senior pastor at Pilgrim Baptist Church.
“We have come to the reality that the need that exists [for affordable housing] in our county is really severe,” Porter said.
“So many in our community need our help, and our desire is to help families to live in a safe, quality community where they can raise there children safely … that they can continue to work together, come up with unique partnerships that could really let this state and county know that we are serious about affordable housing.”
With assistance from local officials and organizations, the community of Red Bank has developed a program to deal with the issue of affordable housing.
“The Cedar Crossing project is a unique project in that it was a partnership … and a unique development of ideas and groups coming together for the purpose of providing affordable housing,” Porter said.
“I am of the belief that it is of the houses of faith, the houses of worship, that we need to exercise and synergize our energy in collaboration with other groups to make affordable housing really affordable for those in need.”
The Cedar Crossing project, begun in 2007, provides 36 units of two- and three-bedroom affordable town homes on the west side of Red Bank. The cost of the three-bedroom town houses ranges between $78,000 and $165,000, while the two-bedroom town houses range between $89,000 and $147,000.
“Understand with the values of the homes we built — the market value was $325,000 — but we were able to sell them at a price that was affordable” Porter said. “To date we have 31 families and five more units to sell. They just feel a tremendous pride in the community because now they can see they are not just there temporarily, they are there as homeowners, and that makes a significant difference.”
Holmdel Township is also working to offer more affordable housing units.
“We were solicited by a developer who has proposed affordable housing units for Holmdel,” Greg Buontempo, deputy mayor, said at the luncheon.
“The township … thought it made sense because we see a lot of people just starting out, people who just graduated school trying to get their first job, who need a place to stay, and sometimes it is a good starter home for them — a place to start a family and start being able to save some money to be able to buy a home.”
While Buontempo said the Holmdel Township Committee is on board with the idea, having 1,000 units dedicated to affordable housing in the township already, the reaction of residents is what can make or break a proposal when it is before a planning board.
“Whenever we do something and pass something like this, the only people that come out are the people that are against it … and it starts sending a message,” Buontempo said. “It is easy to say you support it, but what would be significant is attending town halls and showing support” The Rev. Rusty Eidmann-Hicks, pastor at Holmdel Community United Church of Christ, agreed.
“I think there are [a number of] things that a little local church like this can do,” he said at the Nov. 12 luncheon. “One is to host conferences like this, but another big one is to advocate.
“I think that is the beauty of what faith-based communities can do. They can band together … and network together and help develop affordable housing.”
Habitat for Humanity in Monmouth County helps build affordable homes in local communities and is beginning a new initiative.
“We’re beginning something we call neighborhood revitalization,” Ray Gabler, executive director, said. “It is a new program for us, and one of the first towns we are looking at is Long Branch.
“With this new program we are looking at neighborhoods that are in need of assistance, not just focusing on one family or one home, but looking at a larger area within the community and reaching out to the stakeholders and engaging the community to tell us what they think their needs are.”