Ariel Popa, Victoria Rivas, Kevin Schwake, Corenne Omole, and Simone Labine

Prepared for: PSCI 112 Public Policy and Administration

A Community Based Learning Course at Drew University In partnership with the United Way of Northern NJ, Morris County. May 2011

Homelessness in Morris County

IntroductionHomelessness: What is the most effective way to:

a) reduce the number of people who are homeless,

b) shorten their length of stay at a shelter and c) reduce recidivism?

1. Emergency Services2. Agencies/Organizations that Prevent Homelessness3. Transitional Housing4. Homeownership5. Preventative Services6. Recommendations

ContextAs of 2008, there were 1.5 million people

nationwide were homelessIn a January 2008 survey, there were 6 in 10

people who were in emergency shelters or transitional housing

As of 2010, 296 people were officially homeless in Morris County

According to a different survey in Morris County conducted by various human service agencies the number was estimated closer to 653 homeless people in the County

What services are offered to assist these people?

Emergency AssistanceDepartment of Human Services

-Provides emergency assistance to people who have recently lost their homes

-includes emergency shelters, employment and training services, and access to food stamps

-These services are only provided for people who are eligible for TANF or General Assistance

-SSH

ProblemsMain Problem with Emergency Services:-not enough shelters and beds for growing

number of homeless-According to CEAS report, there has been a

17% increasing in number of families using emergency shelters from 2010-2011

-Declining number of employment and training services

Policy AlternativesNJ Advocacy Network to End Homelessness - States should reorganize emergency

assistance to provide more rental assistanceCEAS Committee - More data on housing inventory, more $

from state government

Chronic HomelessnessAccording to 2010 CSH report, chronic

homeless population consists of 25% of all homeless in Morris County

Who are the chronic homeless?2010 Survey: -Mental Illness: 74.5% -Substance Abuse: 66.7% Problem: These people constantly cycle

through emergency service system

Policy RecommendationsIn the short-term, expand shelters by

gathering accurate data, Improve employment and training services

within the Department of Human Services, For the long-term problem of chronic

homelessness, expand supportive services for mentally ill and drug abusers.

Help for the Homeless; Government Programs- Federal

Housing and Urban DevelopmentMcKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance ActInteragency Council on Homelesness

Department of Human Services (for those with disabilities)

Help for the Homeless; Government Programs- State

HUD’s Camden and Newark officesNew Jersey Department of Community Affairs

Council on Affordable HousingDivision of Housing and Community ResourcesNJ Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency

Help for the Homeless; Government Programs- Local

HUD’s Camden and Newark OfficesAid on local level falls heavily on Independent

Agencies

Independent Agencies Case Study: Supportive Housing Association of New Jersey Other organizations form membership of SHANJ (Over 80

current members)

United Way of Hudson County

St Clare’s Hospital

NJ Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency

McKernan Architects & Associates

Butler Woodcrafters

Autism NJ

SHANJ’S Three GoalsStrengthening membership organizations

Promoting systems change

Educating policy makers, elected officials, and public

RecommendationsFocus on housing first modelGet communities involved in local aid to fill

government void

Is Transitional Housing Effective?It a program that came out of McKinney-Vento

Homeless Assistance Act in 1987Some feel that taking people to a shelter and

then into housing isn’t an effective way to end homelessness.

Giving homeless families a place of their own would inspire them to keep their home and that is a better way to end homelessness.

Is Transitional Housing Effective cont.“86% of families leaving TH moved directly from TH to

their own place. 80% said their TH programs had helped them with a variety of housing”

“Only 4 families with 12 month interviews became homeless within the year following TH, representing 2.1% of the original example of 195”

“3 in 5 mothers lived in their own place for the entire post TH year. 19% moved at least once, but always to their own place. At the less stable end the continuum. 5% never had their own place or moved at least once to a place that was not their own. 2% experienced another episode of homelessness in the year following TH”

RecommendationsTransitional Housing seems to help the homeless

families that reach out for its help. There are still a minority of families that either

have unstable housing or become homeless again after being helped by Transitional Housing. HUD should look into why some families become homeless.

HomeownershipHabitat for Humanity:

-builds decent, affordable housing for low-income families

-receives funding from both federal government and the United Way

HSBC’s First Home Savings Club-Savings Programs for first-time homeowners-Maximum grant: $7,500Mortgage Revenue Bond income limit:-1-2 person household: $70,320-3 or more person household: $80,868 Duration of program: 10-24 months

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentThree stage homeownership plan: -Getting Started, Buying a Home, Owning and

Maintaining HomeoGetting Started:-Housing Counseling Agencies-Education on buying and maintaining home-Predatory Lending

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development cont.o Buying a Home: - Assistance Programs- HUD Sponsored Home- Homeownership Voucherso Owning and Maintaining Your Home:-Home Repairs-Avoiding Foreclosure-Energy Efficient Home

RecommendationsLower Income range of Mortgage Revenue

BondMore programs to allow easy access to more

affordable housing to achieve homeownership

Preventing HomelessnessStopping Foreclosures will prevent homelessness and reduce

recidivism In 2009 approx. 2,824,674 properties nationwide were in some

type of default.Lower-income Americans (Alice population) use approx. 45-50%

of their income on housing in New JerseyMany Americans, not just low-income Americans, use their

houses as collateral in order to get loans from the bank. Banks use houses because of their value.

*Houses appreciate in value over the years (present housing market excluded).

Default on Mortgage payments lead to foreclosure and this

has impacted both: HOMEOWNERS AND TENANTS.

The Foreclosure Prevention ProgramsFor Homeowners1) Government Programs under the Making Home Affordable

Program (MHA)(a) refinancing mortgage loans through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP)

(b) modifying first and second mortgage loans through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and the Second Lien Modification Program (2MP)

(c) providing temporary assistance to unemployed homeowners through the Home Affordable Unemployment Program (UP)

(d) offering other alternatives to foreclosure through the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA)

(Making Home Affordable. Gov). New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency

(NJHMFA)

The Foreclosure Prevention Programs cont.

The  that provides temporary financial assistance, Mortgage assistance Program “$20,000 to income-eligible homeowners who wish to remain in their homes but are in imminent danger of foreclosure due to short-term financial problems beyond their control” (NJHMFA).

Home keepers Program (NJ State)- $48,000 Loan for eligible parties

For Tenants2) Section 8 Housing (a) Tenant Based Rental assistance (b) PTFA- Protecting

Tenants at Foreclosure Act

New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA)

RecommendationsA) The best way to stop foreclosure for the underemployed- Loan

modifications which include changing interest on original loansThe MHA programs will help people keep 70% of their net income

(which is not much in most cases) but makes a big difference for needy recipients expenses.

Minimum rate of interest (possibly between 2-3%)for loans especially for low-income earners.

The MHA programs plus a loan modification would increase the total income and would lessen the total debt simultaneously.

B) Both homeowners and tenant assistance should have under loan modifications

C) Housing funds should not be cut off the minute that an individual or family fails to fit into one criterion that determines MHA program eligibility.

D) Education on financial empowerment and money management. When to borrow and how to budget.

Overall FindingsEmergency services must focus on both

short-term and long term problems of homelessness.

Focus on housing first modelsEducate public and officials on cost saving

benefits of homelessness assistanceLower-income Mortgage Range limitLoan modifications and tackle initial interest

of original mortgageTweak Transitional Housing

Works Cited Brown, Richard. Personal Interview. 8 April 2011. Bruseo, Joan. Personal Interview. 18 March 2011 CEASE Operation Guidelines CEAS/COC Committee Meeting. 12 April 2011 Christie, Les. “The Rescue: Extreme modifications: 2% mortgages” CNN Money.com, December 17, 2009.

<http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/16/real_estate/great_mortgage_modifications/index.htm? postversion=2009121710&iid=EAL> Christie, Les. “The Rescue: Record 3 million households hit with foreclosure in 2009.” CNN Money.com, January 14,

2010. http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/14/real_estate/record_foreclosure_year/ Corporation for Supportive Housing, PITC Report-Morris County. 2010.

http://www.uwmorris.org/documents/10PITCmorris.pdf   Donovan, Shaun. “U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development.” HUD.

GOV.<http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/states/new_jersey> Drobness, Tanya; Lockwood, Jim. “Morris County shelters see growing number of white-collar professionals

becoming homeless.” December 6th 2009, NJ News: The Star-Ledger. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/12/morris_county_sees_growing_num.html

Home Recovery Organization. “Mortgage Help for Homeowners in Distress.” <http://homeRecovery.org/> HUD Homes & Communities. “Tenant-based Rental Assistance.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,

10 July 2009. <http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/affordablehousing/ training/web/abc/ activities/tenantassist.cfm> Greulich et al. The Anatomy of Rent Burdens: Immigration, Growth, and Rental Housing. Brookings-Wharton Papers on

Urban Affairs (2004), pp. 149-205 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/25067408> Johnson, Tim. “Johnson Statement on Housing Market Hearing.” The United States Senate Committee on Banking,

Housing and Urban Affairs, March 9, 2011. <http://banking.senate.gov/public/ index.cfm?FuseAction=Newsroom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=A0D837D6-B2B7-D906-B07F-13E3224BA47E>

Works Cited Luhby, Tami. “Only about 4% get long-term mortgage help.” CNNMoney.com, December 10, 2009.

<http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/10/news/economy/permanent_loan_modifications/index.htm?postversion=2009121018&iid=EL> Melton, Elease. “The Role of the ULMCNJ in Foreclosure Prevention and Mediation.” Interview, April, 1 2011 "Mental Illness and Homelessness." National Coalition for the Homeless. June 2006. Web. 2 Apr. 2011.

<http://www.nationalhomeless.org/>. Mental Health Association of Morris County. HOMI. http://www.mhamorris.org/page.php?p=8 MHA. “Homeowner Frequently Asked Questions: What is "Making Home Affordable" all about?” Making Home Affordable, March

14, 2011. <http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/faqs/homeowner-faqs/Pages/default.aspx> Morris County Department of Human Services. http://www.morrishumanservices.org/hs/ota.asp Murphy, Ed. Personal Interview. 39 March 2011 National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty. An Ounce of Prevention: Programs to Prevent Homelessness in 25 States.

February 25, 2009. <http://www.nlchp.org/view_report.cfm?id=294> National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty. PTFA: Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act. 2010

http://www.nlchp.org/view_report.cfm?id=336 New Jersey Advocacy Network to End Homelessness. http://www.njaneh.org/about/ NJHMFA. “The New Jersey Home Keeper Program.” New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, 2011.

<http://www.njhomekeeper.gov/guidelines.htm> NJHMFA. “Federal and State Mortgage Modification Programs.” New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, 2007.

<http://www.state.nj.us/dca/hmfa/home/foreclosure/programs.html> (NUL) National Urban League. The Housing and Community Development Programs. The National Urban League.

<http://www.nul.org/what-we-do/our-programs/housing> Peet, Judy. “Foreclosure-based evictions leave many renters homeless.” January 17, 2010. <http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/headline_2.html>   Ragonese, Lawrence. “Number of homeless doubles in Morris County.” The Star Ledger, Wednesday, March 10, 2010.

<http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/number_of_homeless_doubles_in.html