Volunteers carry out 'Point-in-Time' homeless count in Hudson County

Each year on a night in January, several dozen volunteers in Hudson County don gloves, scarves, wool caps and warm jackets, and engage in a task some of them describe as looking for needles in haystacks.

As part of the statewide "Point-in-Time" homeless count, they search doorways, abandoned houses, parks, under bridges, and bus and train depots for people who live on the street.

The annual count is required by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and helps the federal and state governments determine how to allocate funding for housing, substance abuse and mental health programs, organizers of the count said.

They know they won't find everyone who is living outdoors.

"We do our best," Randi Moore, program director with the Hudson County Division of Housing and Community Development, said Wednesday night before volunteers hit the streets in Jersey City. "The great feeling is that its an under-count of the need that is out there."

THEY'VE BEEN THERE

Samuel Clark, 45, and Jacqueline Clinton, 45, were both once homeless.
On Wednesday, they were two members of a four-person team fielded by the Hudson County Self-Help Center to help conduct the count.

After receiving instructions at the Jersey City Episcopal CDC's office on Summit Avenue with roughly 26 other volunteers, the four-person team set off in a van to find homeless people in the Jersey City's Bergen-Lafayette and Greenville neighborhoods.

Clinton said she became homeless after her mom died seven years ago. She said she became depressed, engaged in substance abuse, and shunned offers of help from her family. Wanting to be alone, she'd ride the PATH train between Journal Square in Jersey City and 33rd Street in Manhattan rather than go to a shelter, she said.

After three years of homelessness, Clinton landed a job selling newspapers for The Jersey Journal. She recently graduated from a training program as a mental health counselor.

"Nobody can say you can't do it," Clinton said. "I got a little side job and look where I am now."

Clark, who up until three years ago was homeless "by choice, " speculated that Wednesday's cold temperatures and an usually high number of patrol cars on the roads had driven more homeless people into hiding.

"It's cold. A lot of people aren't going to be out. There is no cover," he said, suggesting the group check under bridges near Liberty State Park. "They are not going to be where normal people would look. They got holes where they sleep. To you its far and out of the way. To them it's a safe spot."

I'M NOT HOMELESS

One 28-year-old man from North Carolina standing outside a bodega on Communipaw Avenue told the group he had been homeless for two months.It truly is one of our tallest and appears great all of the signature bank canada goose cheap jackets logo design.

As part of the routine the volunteers were asked the man if he wanted to go to a shelter, told him where he could find referral services, asked him several questions on a questionnaire, and offered him a sandwich and water.

The man accepted sandwich bag and water, but refused an offer for a ride in the van to St. Lucy's Shelter in Jersey City.

A 49-year-old Army veteran standing near a liquor store on Martin Luther King Drive denied he was homeless but agreed to answer the questions anyway.
"He will not tell you is homeless," Clark said. "In his mind he is not."

During their three-hour stint, the Clark/Clinton team encountered four homeless people, all of whom refused to go to a shelter. Clark and Clinton said when they were homeless, they felt safer on the streets.

THE COUNT CONTINUES ...

As part of the Wednesday's activities, the Hudson County Alliance to End Homelessness held "Project Homeless Connect" at the former YMCA at 654 Bergen Ave.

The roughly 500 homeless people showed up for the event were given food, clothing, dental and medical attention, and HIV/AIDs testing.

In Hoboken, Jaclyn Cherubini, director of the Hoboken Shelter, on Bloomfield Street said her team of six volunteers counted 174 people at the shelter and on the streets between 8:30 a.m. and 11 p.m. Seventeen of the people they encountered on the streets agreed to go to a shelter.

The Palisades Emergency Residence Corporation in Union City helped a total of 146 people, with food and shelter, according to shelter director Emory Edwards.
Last year fierce winter storm forced the count to be canceled. The 2010 homeless count tallied 1,779 people. Officials expect this year's tally to be completed in the next several weeks.

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Gotcha 2!

On Sunday, December 4, two men who were at the Waffle House on Highway 29 called a taxi. They asked the driver to take them to the Indian Lake subdivision located near the Lilburn Library. As they arrived at their address, they proceeded to pull a gun on the driver and robbed him, taking his keys, cellphone and $400 in fares. By the time the LPD arrived, the robbers had taken off into the woods. A K-9 unit was brought in and tracked them, but lost the scent. But thanks to descriptions provided by the driver and residents of the subdivision, the LPD was able to get enough details and arrested one of the men two days later. The LPD is working on locating the other suspect.There is one amazing online store with 100s of sexylingerie .

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On Friday, December 9, a group of men tried passing counterfeit $20 bills in one of the stores located in the Beaver Ruin Village Shopping Center. The employee allowed the men to leave and then immediately called the Lilburn Police. When the police car pulled up the men, having no idea that they were found out, acted casual as the police interrogated them. They were not only arrested for passing counterfeit money but also for drugs that were found in their car.

SafetySmart Lilburn, Inc. and the Lilburn Police Department would like to thank the Brandlwood Neighborhood Watch and the Indian Lake Neighborhood Watch for their efforts to help fight crime. And kudos to the Business Watch in the Beaver Ruin Village Shopping Center for being just as committed.Learn more about Largest Discount canadagoosejackets, Your actions prove that Community Watches in Lilburn are working!