Today, January 28, the Board of Commissioners will be hosting a homeless services and resource fair to provide free necessary services to those in need at 10 a.m. at Cathedral Kitchen, 1514 Federal Street, Camden. This fair will feature on–site showers and haircuts, breakfast and lunch, and access to several organizations to help with employment and housing, among other things.
“Access to essential services and support on their journey to stability can make a life-changing difference for our residents who are experiencing homelessness,” said Commissioner Jennifer Cooley Fleisher, liaison to the Department of Health and Human Services. “The Board of Commissioners are committed to ending homelessness in Camden County by 2030, and resource fairs such as this help us move closer towards that reality.”
The resource fair intentionally coincides with NJCounts, the annual Point-in-Time Count of individuals and families experiencing homelessness in New Jersey. As required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Point-in-Time Count takes place throughout the country during the last 10 days of January and identifies people residing in emergency shelters, transitional housing, safe havens, or other locations not fit for dwelling.
The following service providers will be at Wednesday’s event:
· Camden County Board of Social Services
· Camden County Office of Mental Health & Addiction
· Camden County Division of Community Development
· Camden County Prosecutor’s Office
· South Jersey Legal Services
· Volunteers of America
· Senior Citizens United Community Services (SCUCS)
· Center for Family Services
· Cooper Center for Healing
· Camden County Office of Economic Opportunity
To further support the board’s mission to address the ongoing issue of homelessness, the Commissioners and Camden County Office of Homeless Services have created a six-point plan that utilizes programs and partnerships to combat and eliminate homelessness in Camden County.
The plan will be executed with the help of several community partners and organizations from throughout the county. Each municipality within Camden County will be involved in the efforts and the goal is to end homelessness and reach “functional Zero” by 2030. “Functional zero” is reached when the number of homeless people, sheltered or unsheltered, is no greater than the monthly housing placement rate.