N.J. homeless shelters encouraged by numbers but fear biggest threat lies ahead

Published April 25, 2020
By Patrick Lanni

Dan McGuire and his staff were ready for the inevitable.

Like the operators of many homeless shelters across the state, McGuire and his staff at Homeless Solutions Inc. in Morristown were preparing for when, not if, the coronavirus would arrive.

That moment came last Thursday, a month since the first case of COVID-19 was announced in New Jersey.

McGuire said the protocols his staff put in place weeks ago — everything from rearranging beds to moving meals into shifts — were implemented to prevent the virus from spreading like wildfire in their Morristown facility.

After the first positive test, Morris County health and government officials teamed up with McGuire and his staff from to relocate the person to a nearby motel.

No one has tested positive since, McGuire said.

“The groups that have been most successful in preventing the spread were the ones that hunkered down and kept people in their shelter programs," McGuire added. “The precautions and steps that we took with our partners have paid off and will continue to pay off."

When coronavirus became a threat in New Jersey, McGuire and his staff closed their doors to new cases and people on the street. Their shelter is currently operating at 75 percent of its capacity, with 78 people.

McGuire said his shelter was fortunate to move 30 people to a second building on its campus.

The staff at Homeless Solutions Inc. has been fortunate but, like homeless shelter operators around the state, still must find ways to be prepared for the unexpected as the battle against the coronavirus continues.

The Bergen County Housing, Health and Human Services Center started with 85 people at its main shelter in Hackensack when New Jersey’s first COVID-19 case arrived in March. Staff members were able to divert the shelter’s population to motels or places where family or friends could provide temporary assistance. County officials also helped a third group of 15 people find permanent residences.

No one using the facility leading up to or during the pandemic has tested positive, according to Julia Orlando, the director of the center.

“There’s no playbook on this," Orlando said. “You need to be creative about the ways in which you’re operating and just repurpose the work in a different way.”

Homeless Solutions in Morristown
The male sleeping area at Homeless Solutions in Morristown on April 24. The home has changed its living quarters for clients due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media

Directors of the Covenant House, which operates facilities for young adults in seven cities across New Jersey and the York Street Project in Jersey City, a non-congregate shelter for women and families, also said no one has tested positive in their facilities.

“It hasn’t hit us, but we know if it hits us, it’s going to hit hard," said Jim White, executive director of the Covenant House.

"Our job here is to see young people’s goodness and inspire them. It’s hard to do that when everything is on hold. I don’t want to be a doomsday guy. That’s not who I am, but you have to read the tea leaves of what we’ve been given, and I think that there will be big ramifications with regard to mental health and financial stress. We don’t expect the homeless situation to diminish.”

PREPARING FOR A SECOND WAVE

Health officials feared that the more than 9,000 homeless people living in New Jersey would be among the most vulnerable during the pandemic, but the biggest threat may not have arrived just yet.


Advocacy groups and directors running shelters across the state expect demand for their services to grow once the state reopens and the moratorium on evictions is lifted.

In the last month alone, there has been a 30 percent increase to the coordinated entry list for homeless shelters in Morris County. McGuire said that rise stems from a two-fold problem. More people are struggling to handle the economic fallout of the pandemic, and secondly, a majority of the state’s shelters are not taking new cases or have reduced their numbers to ensure proper distancing.

McGuire said it is yet to be seen how county, state and federal officials will address housing and homelessness moving forward.

“In the world of homelessness, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," McGuire said. “It’s more expensive to solve the problem after it’s become a problem. Let’s use some of that rescue money to keep people housed in their apartments and not become homeless in the first place."

Most homeless shelters were operating near capacity before the pandemic and expect to take big hits financially. Sue Byrne, director of the York Street Project in Jersey City, is expecting a $240,000 reduction from her budget after two of her shelter’s biggest fundraisers were canceled.


Byrne said the long-term financial effects will send a ripple for a long time for families in her shelter.

“Most people in our shelter aren’t working right now, so the likelihood of getting them housed quickly and out of the shelter is impossible right now,” Byrne said. "That’s what scares us, and the long-term impact of what it means for these families.”

New Jersey’s Department of Human Services said it has increased the amount of support it provides to shelters in recognition of their added costs associated with staffing, food and other needs during the pandemic. Shelters in hard-hit areas or with high demand are also eligible for additional aide through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to Tom Hester, a spokesman for Human Services.

Congress provided $12 billion in housing and homelessness resources in the CARES act, but the National Low Income Housing Coalition is urging government officials for additional funding, including $100 billion in rental assistance and a national, uniform moratorium on evictions and foreclosures.


In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy has urged landlords to “do the right thing” for tenants. Other governors have backed that request with executive orders.

“There are really good people who are going to support their tenants and neighbors, but we need a systematic and systemic response to this crisis from every landlord and bank, said Staci Berger, President and CEO of the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey.

"You can ask nicely a few times, but if landlords and banks aren’t doing these things willingly, then we’re going to need legislation and executive orders to enforce them.

Homeless Solutions in Morristown
Female living area at Homeless Solutions in Morristown. The home has changed its living quarters for clients because of the coronavirus outbreak in New Jersey.Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media

At the start of the pandemic, homeless shelters were tasked with keeping the coronavirus out. Now, they’ll be tasked with finding ways to take more people in, Berger said.

According to the Eviction Lab at Princeton University, New Jersey falls in the bottom half of the country with its response to protecting people at risk of losing their residence during the pandemic.

With just one and a half out of five stars, New Jersey ranks in the bottom half of the country and near the bottom of Northeast states. New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut all have at least three stars.

“We have a housing crisis, and this pandemic has definitely made it exponentially worse,” Berger said.

“The question becomes that shelters are already full. They’re not able to take new cases. I don’t know where those people go. Pre-COVID they would go to the emergency room, the library or McDonald’s and buy a cup of coffee. That population of transient, unsheltered people is at a severe risk, and it’s not entirely clear to me how that is being addressed yet.”

Patrick Lanni may be reached at [email protected].