TOMS RIVER – There’s a common misconception that there’s homeless people on one side of the spectrum and then there’s the rest of the population on the other.
People who work with the homeless population know that there are more people who are on the borderlines. Terms get used like “food insecure” to describe people who don’t always know when their next meal is coming from. They have a home, they have a job, but it doesn’t pay enough, so they might lose their home.
The pandemic has drawn this into sharp focus. People who were self-sufficient are suddenly in need of help. It’s been said that everyone is just one disaster away.
The people on the front lines, like Just Believe, are seeing this. They run the homeless overnight shelter at Riverwood Park in Toms River.
“We’ve been seeing a broader group of people needing services,” said Paul Hulse, CEO of Just Believe. “We’re now getting families with children.”
One family member will catch coronavirus and it will go through the household. Both parents aren’t able to work during that time. All it takes is a few missed paychecks – or having to get unemployment as opposed to a full paycheck – to be destructive to a family.
There’s been a flood of new people. There are people who call who owe thousands of dollars in rent.
Landlords are afraid to rent to people because of housing conditions, he said. It’s difficult for middle class families to find affordable housing in this area, so imagine how difficult it is for people in need.
There are bed surfers, people who don’t have a home of their home but crash at a friend’s house for a little bit of time. Just because they are not on the street, doesn’t mean they’re not homeless.
On cold nights throughout the winter, Just Believe transports people without a roof over their heads to a building at Riverwood Park for the night. There, they are met with multiple other services to get them on their feet. The goal isn’t just to provide a shelter for one night, but to get them on a path toward self-sufficiency.
At the close of the winter season, Just Believe released their tally. They had 171 different people spend nights there. Those 171 people didn’t stay every night, but there were 1,809 times they gave shelter to someone in need.
Of those people, they helped 25 get permanent housing; 49 seek detox/rehab for mental health or addiction; 19 move into sober living homes; 10 get temporary housing; 22 get mental health services; four placed in a youth shelter; four driver’s licenses restored; two found part-time jobs; five found full-time jobs; and 14 were given case management.
They were open 104 nights. There were nine days where they were open 24 hours due to extreme weather conditions.
There were zero COVID-19 positive cases reported, Hulse said. There were also zero civil complaints from Toms River.
The public has been helping. At least 3,000 volunteer hours were clocked, not including outreach and other events. There were $1,497 in donations signed into the center; $2,800 in gift cards distributed to guests; over a thousand toiletry and other items were given out; and the community donated daily food to the center valuing over $10,000. They were even able to give a used car to a couple.
How To Help
There are some special events that Just Believe will be attending that will help them financially, and help them meet the public and spread the word.
On May 22, they will host the 2nd Annual Craft Fair at Riverwood Park.
On July 17, they will attend Summer In The Streets, Downtown Toms River.
On July 25, they will have a booth at Soulsational, in Veterans Park, Bayville.
On August 9, they will have their First Annual Golf Outing.
Just Believe operates a Boutique selling gently used clothing and items at 734 Route 37 West, in the Aldi’s shopping center in Toms River.
If you are in risk of being homeless, or are currently homeless, call 732-279-6157.
For more information, or to donate, visit justbelieveinc.org
