High rent and home prices, red tape driving housing crisis
VILLAS — Exorbitant rents and home prices coupled with red tape for those seeking government assistance continue to drive up Cape May County’s homeless population.
Five county councils of Knights of Columbus held a well-attended forum May 31 at St. John Neuman Parish to discuss solutions to the crisis.
Assemblyman Antwan L. McClellan (R-1) said his legislative team of Assemblyman Erik Simonsen and state Sen. Michael Testa had a meeting with county social services and Middle Township administrators.
He said Cumberland County has a homeless shelter, something Cape May County lacks.
“I was trying to see if we could put those two worlds together to see if we can get those that are less fortunate, that are hanging out in Rio Grande, to the shelter in Cumberland County, and what I discovered at that meeting is the red tape is just unbelievable, the things that people have to qualify for in order just to get the services,” McClellan said.
He said he attended the forum to learn what more the legislative team could do at the state level to cut the red tape and get help for homeless individuals.
McClellan called the housing situation in Cape May County “abysmal,” noting homeless persons may be “kicked out” of rental properties in the summer by landlords who want more lucrative tourist business.
Maria Elena Hallion, executive director of The Branches Outreach Center, said the organization serves breakfast and lunch to homeless persons five days a week and operates a food pantry.
“We also put groceries in a van and take them to two motels where families are residing and also to two recovery houses,” she said.
The Branches offers showers, free clothing and advocate services, meeting with unsheltered persons to find a resolution or improvement to their situation, Hallion said.
“We can report that 70 percent of the guests that come into the Branches Outreach are experiencing unsecured shelter, living in their car, living in the woods, living in motels,” she said.
The Branches serves meals to about 35 people each day, but not the same 35 persons. She said about 170 different people find their way to the Branches each month.
Sandra Lockhart, program director for the Branches, said the organization sees three critical issues: mental health problems, lack of housing and addiction, all of which are increasing. She said affordable housing is almost non-existent in the county.
Cape Hope President Denise Venturini-South said the need for immediate housing for families has increased by 16 percent. In 2022, New Jersey reported 9,662 unsheltered persons with 119 homeless persons in this county, she said. The average medium-sized house in the county is priced is $406,000, Venturini-South said.
To date, Cape Hope has provided almost $200,000 in immediate housing assistance, she said, adding that during the first six months of the year, Cape Hope assisted 63 people.
“Antiquated guidelines regulate income limits that no longer are applicable to an average consumer in Cape May County,” she said. “Yet these income limits can be and most likely are a major cause of a person’s homelessness.”
Cape Hope would like to open a community care center that would provide supportive housing services and homeless prevention.
Venturini-South said the center would not be a homeless shelter but would provide immediate transitional supportive housing and access to essential lifesaving services such as substance abuse recovery, mental health intervention and safe harbor from living on the street.
“The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services needs to provide technical assistance to help communities leverage federal programs like Medicaid to help cover and provide housing-related supportive services and behavioral health inside Cape May County,” she said. “We must collaborate with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Veterans Affairs and the Social Security Administration to address barriers that people may encounter when applying for services.”
The county has an inadequate supply of housing, Venturini-South said, adding that it is imperative to keep people in their current housing, which may entail capping rent at the municipal level, limiting the number of vacation rental properties and building affordable housing.
Johnnie Walker, chairman of the Citizen/Veterans Advisory Commission (CVAC) and CFO for Disabled American Veterans in New Jersey, said Veterans Affairs is a great organization but too slow.
“CVAC came about to try and do something to help vets with emergency needs within 24 to 48 hours,” he said.
When CVAC started, he said, they saw three major issues with veterans — a need for medical attention and psychological help, transportation to get to medical offices and housing.
“Here it is 10 years later, and we are still fighting those three priorities,” Walker said.
He said when a homeless veteran contacts CVAC, he or she is placed in a motel from one to four weeks. Walker said during the winter, the cost is $200 to $250 per week but in the summer rises to $700 to $800 per week.
With no housing available, veterans stay in a motel until they work with county Social Services or Cape Hope, he said.
Walker said Middle Township is preparing an ordinance to stop persons from living in tents in the woods. A public hearing is scheduled for June 19.
“I don’t get it — they don’t want them on the streets, they don’t want them in their neighborhoods, now they don’t want them in the woods,” he said. “Where do they go?”
Donna Groome, head of the county Department of Human Services, said they can assist with Medicaid and food stamps. She said emergency assistance can place a homeless person in temporary accommodations, a motel room or provide assistance with rent.
Groome said the department operates under state and federal regulations often viewed as “red tape.” To receive help, the person must be eligible for Work First New Jersey cash assistance, either Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) for households with minor children or general assistance for single adults or couples without children, she said.
General assistance is about $200 per month and TANF benefits depend on the number of persons in the household, Groome said. Both have work requirements with some exceptions such as those caring for a young child or having a disability, she said.
“We have about 100 people that are in motels in temporary shelter,” she said.
A total of 35 persons are using temporary rental assistance, Groome said. The emergency assistance is limited to 12 months lifetime, she said.
Long term rental assistance, known as Section 8, is administered by the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA), Groome said.
Fair market rent for a two-bedroom house in the county is $1,500 per month, she said, noting HUD’s standard is no one should pay more than 30 percent of their income for rent and utilities.
Groome said most of the two-bedroom apartments available in the county have a rent of $2,000 per month with a least $200 per month in costs for utilities, which would total $26,000 per year.
“By HUD standards, a household should make $88,000 to be able to not pay more than 30 percent of their household income toward their rent and utilities — that is over our area median income,” she said. “I think a lot of people unfortunately are paying a lot more than that and they are making a lot less than that.”
She said the Homeless Trust Fund was created in 2017. It levies a $5 fee on every real estate transaction in the county with $2 of the fee used to support Code Blue warming centers. She said the program was helping three households in the county of which two are waiting and attempting to find permanent housing.
The DCA Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Grant is a very difficult program to facilitate with the income level for the person at 30 percent of the local median income, Groome said.
The program does not allow the applicant to have Social Security disability unearned income with the expectation the person will become self-sufficient in 12 months.
“We had a lot of people screened for that and nobody qualified,” she said.
Social Services for the Homeless (SSH) assists to prevent utility termination and eviction and can pay for temporary shelter with a reasonable expectation that within 30 days of placement, the client will have stable housing, which is difficult, Groome said.
She said SSH can assist with security deposits and first month’s rent.
Venturini-South said homelessness has a negative impact on economic development for the county.
“I have had very wealthy people come up to me and say ‘Why are there homeless people on the mall? Why are there homeless people on the boardwalk? Why is this woman coming up to me and asking me for money when she’s homeless?’” she said. “This is a small population but it’s becoming more and more obvious to the affluent.”
Whether more money can be generated from the Homeless Trust Fund or not, funding sources must be found, Venturini-South said.
The homeless hotline can be reached by dialing 211.
By JACK FICHTER/Sentinel staff
