Finding Homes for Those in Need
United Way of Hudson County Mobilizes Resources to Affect Change in the Lives of Homeless Men, Women and Children in Our Communities.
In a January 2007 survey by shelter workers, 2,972 homeless people are trying to survive in Hudson County. Some live in the shadows of the streets, sleeping in parks or on benches in the summer or searching for warmth in vestibules and train stations when the weather turns cold. Some reside in makeshift shanties they erect along the cliffs on the Palisades. While others line up for a chance to sleep in one of the available beds in the three Hudson County shelters – St. Lucy’s Shelter in Jersey City, the Hoboken Shelter on Bloomfield Street and the Palisades Emergency Residence Corporation (PERC) Shelter in Union City. But the shelters are only for individuals who can keep themselves clean of drugs and alcohol and those who don’t, wander the streets facing life alone and without the help and resources they so desperately need.
Many people who make up the homeless population have led productive lives and even raised families, but because they lost their job, or their spouses left them or they suffer from a mental or emotional illness brought on by substance abuse like alcoholism and drug addiction, they spiral into a cycle of homelessness and despair. And almost all who are homeless have experienced the discrimination and alienation that comes with being homeless and soon become “invisible” to the rest of society.
Those who do manage to live in temporary shelters, like Hudson’s battered women’s shelter, know it is just a temporary fix to a bigger problem. And the ones who suffer the most, of course, are the children who can’t understand why they don’t have a home like their friends and classmates or a room to call their own where they can play, read, study and dream of a better future.
The United Way of Hudson County has always been there for homeless men, women and children by subsidizing the shelters (including the battered women’s shelter), endowing grants to non-profit agencies that provide services to homeless people and families and by participating on state, county and city advisory boards and committees dedicated to providing resources and services to ease the homeless crisis in Hudson.
For the past three years, Dan Altilio, president of The United Way of Hudson County, and his staff have worked diligently to help end the homeless crisis. When temperatures go down to 24 degrees and below, President Altilio, along with Hoboken Mayor Dave Roberts and Director of the Hudson County Office of Emergency Management (HC-OEM) Jack Burns implement a Temporary Emergency Shelter Plan where those who are homeless and cannot get a bed in one of the three shelters are bussed to emergency shelters in various locations in Hudson. President Altilio and his staff are also involved with Project Connect and the “Point in Time” annual census of Hudson’s homeless population. And as new buildings are planned for construction, President Altilio and his staff meet with corporate leaders and members of the non-profit sector to see how they can bring these two factions together to build affordable housing for the homeless.
Propelling his optimistic spirit and relentless determination to find solutions to Hudson’s homelessness crisis, President Altilio has accepted the appointment from the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness to be co-chairman of the Alliance to End Homelessness in Hudson County, which has been established a part of a bigger plan to end homelessness in America.
