Mercer Alliance outlines strategy in Trenton Times Op-Ed
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Click here for A New Direction for Ending Homelessness in Mercer County.
Herb Levine, the Secretary of NJANERH’s Steering Committee and executive director of the Mercer Alliance to End Homelessness, published an op-ed in the Trenton Times on Friday November 27, 2009. Entitled Ending homelessness — a cost-effective approach, the op-ed highlighted the successful strategies included in Mercer’s plan to end homelessness.
The plan, according to Mr. Levine, the focuses on four key elements:
- Targeted prevention — identify those most likely to become homeless and prevent them from becoming homeless, if at all possible.
- Rapidly re-house those people who do become homeless in rental apartments in the community.
- Provide those with disabilities with permanent supportive housing.
- Help individuals to sustain their new homes by enhancing tenants’ incomes through securing benefits for which they are eligible and opening new avenues to employment.
The op-ed made the case that based on the experience that New Jersey “will gain the outcome we want — ending people’s homelessness — and spend less.” Mr. Levine then highlights the Mercer Alliance’s testimony before the Governor’s Interagency Council to Prevent and End Homelessness where the “following recommendations so that this approach can be extended throughout New Jersey”:
- As part of the FY2011 budget, allow six counties to demonstrate rapid re-housing for families or Housing First for individuals as a cost-neutral demonstration. If money is saved, so much the better.
- Allow for changes needed in the current emergency assistance regulations that would support housing and services, rather than the current facility-based per diem reimbursement.
- Target housing vouchers for Housing First consumers from the Department of Community Affairs.
- Find dollars for case management services by matching emergency assistance clients with consumers in mental health agencies.
- Match prisoner re-entry funds for services with housing vouchers.
- Leverage New Jersey’s Emergency Assistance program capacity to provide temporary rental assistance for families on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families when the family is homeless.
- Create a safety net for the shelter system during the transition to a permanent housing solution.
We agree with Mr. Levine’s closing paragraph:
We look forward to sharing these solutions with the Christie transition team as well. By adopting this approach, the governor-elect can end a horrible social evil in New Jersey without spending one new dime.
Governor-elect Christie, the New Jersey Advocacy Network to End Homelessness is ready to work with you to end homelessness!
