NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- NJ Transit and partners have announced a new program to help homeless people around Newark Penn Station.
Newark Penn Station has for decades been a place where many people who have no home to go to gather. So much so, that community organizations bring help like food, clothing and assistance. The new program hopes to shift things to a higher gear. Not just offering help, but homes.
"Gateway to Hope" is a set of focused initiatives aimed at reaching, stabilizing, and housing residents in need near the station.
The effort addresses medical, housing and other needs to help those who need it.
"This important collaboration is another essential step in our quest to end homelessness in Newark," Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka said.
The transit agency will work with various Newark-based city services that address the homeless crisis in the city. Prudential Insurance, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Robert Wood Johnson signed on as a major partners.
Specific initiatives include:
Deploying three-person medical teams consisting of a nurse, social worker and outreach worker, in collaboration with New Jersey Transit Police and the City of Newark, to assess and provide on-the-spot mental health care and substance abuse disorder treatment and to connect unhoused individuals to housing and other services.Supporting Mayor Baraka's new "PATH HOME" housing program by funding an expansion of wrap-around support services for 200 Newark Housing Authority transitional housing units for chronically homeless Newark residents.Deploying 100 HOME tenant-based rental assistance vouchers for persons experiencing homelessness, committed by the New Jersey department of Community Affairs in support of this effort.The City, in partnership with NJDCA, NJCRI and others, is set to open the state-of-the-art 24/7 Shiela Y. Oliver Drop In resource center in late-2025. The center will provide medical, housing and workforce services and address immediate needs for unsheltered residents such as showers, laundry and food services, as well as rest lounges and computer stations.Launching a "Home of" sponsorship of Newark Penn Station with Prudential Financial, which has been headquartered in Newark since its founding in 1875.A few years ago, Newark began building shelter parks - shipping containers converted into temporary living spaces with social services onsite. The Prudential company committed money to doing more.
Newark says its programs have over the last 2-years, reduced homelessness significantly in the city.
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