2017 PIT Report - New Jersey - Monarch Housing...NEW JERSEY’S 2017 POINT-IN-TIME COUNT 3 I. Introduction NJ Counts 2017 NJ Counts 2017, New Jersey’s annual Point-In-Time (PIT)

DRAFT

NewJersey’s2017Point-In-TimeCountof

theHomeless

January24,2017

MonarchHousingAssociates

29AldenStreet,Suite1BCranford,NJ07016

908.272.5363

www.monarchhousing.org NJCounts!2015

Counts!

NJ2017

TableofContentsI.Introduction........................................................................................................................................3NJCounts2017.................................................................................................................................................3Acknowledgements........................................................................................................................................3ThisReport.......................................................................................................................................................3

II.DataCollectionandMethodology..............................................................................................4RequirementsfortheCount........................................................................................................................4DataCollectionMethods...............................................................................................................................5Limitations........................................................................................................................................................5De-duplication.................................................................................................................................................6

III.FindingsforTotalHomelessPopulation................................................................................7KeyFindings.....................................................................................................................................................7TotalHomelessPopulation.........................................................................................................................8HomelessFamiliesandIndividuals..........................................................................................................9Demographics................................................................................................................................................10Disabilities......................................................................................................................................................10VictimsofDomesticViolence....................................................................................................................11Veterans...........................................................................................................................................................11IncomeandBenefits....................................................................................................................................12LengthofHomelessness.............................................................................................................................13CauseofHomelessness...............................................................................................................................13

IV.FindingsfortheChronicallyHomeless................................................................................14TotalChronicallyHomelessPopulation................................................................................................14FamiliesandIndividuals............................................................................................................................15Demographics................................................................................................................................................16Disabilities......................................................................................................................................................16Subpopulations..............................................................................................................................................17IncomeandBenefits....................................................................................................................................17LengthofHomelessness.............................................................................................................................18CauseofHomelessness...............................................................................................................................18

V.FindingsfortheUnshelteredHomeless................................................................................19TotalUnshelteredHomelessPopulation..............................................................................................19FamiliesandIndividuals............................................................................................................................19Demographics................................................................................................................................................20Disabilities......................................................................................................................................................20Subpopulations..............................................................................................................................................20IncomeandBenefits....................................................................................................................................21LengthofHomelessness.............................................................................................................................21CauseofHomelessness...............................................................................................................................22

VI.Appendix........................................................................................................................................23

ThisreportwaspreparedforTheNewJerseyHousingandMortgageFinanceAgency

byMonarchHousingAssociates

NEWJERSEY’S2017POINT-IN-TIMECOUNT 3

I.Introduction

NJCounts2017NJCounts2017,NewJersey’sannualPoint-In-Time(PIT)CountoftheHomeless,providesastatewidesnapshotofhomelesshouseholds inourcommunities;where they findshelter,what their needs are, and what factors contribute to making them homeless. The 2017CountrevealsimportantdemographicandotherinformationaboutfamiliesandindividualswhowerehomelessonthenightofTuesday,January24th,2017andwascarriedoutwiththehelpofgovernmentagencies,community-basedorganizations,andlocalvolunteers.InNewJersey,eachCounty’scountisplanned,coordinated,andcarriedoutlocally,andtheinformation gathered enables each community to better allocate housing resources andservices in order to prevent and end homelessness. The PIT Count is the primaryopportunitythroughouttheyearformostcommunitiestotakeacomprehensivelookatthetotal homeless population, and is especially crucial in assessing the needs of theunshelteredhomeless.

AcknowledgementsMonarchwould like to thankallPoint-In-TimeCoordinators,homelessserviceproviders,agencies,andvolunteerswhoparticipatedinNJCounts2017.Monarchwouldalsoliketospecifically thank Bergen County for providing a Spanish translation of the 2017 papersurveytool.Finally, a special acknowledgement is given to all the respondents who were willing tosharepersonalinformationaboutthemselvesandtheirhouseholds’experiencesinordertohelpourcommunitiesbetterunderstandandassistthehomeless.FundingforcoordinatingNewJersey’s2017Point-In-TimeCountandproducingthisreportwasprovidedbyNewJersey’sHousingandMortgageFinanceAgency(NJHMFA).

ThisReportThefindingsinthisreportarepresentedinthefollowingsections:

1. Totalhomelesspopulation;2. Thoseexperiencingchronichomelessness(familiesandindividualsthathavebeen

homeless for a year or longer, orwho have experienced at least four episodes ofhomelessnessinthelastthreeyearstotalingatleast12months,andhaveadisabledheadofhousehold);and

3. Unshelteredfamiliesandindividuals;


The structure of this report is intended to provide not only an overall snapshot of thehomeless population counted in the Point-In-Time, but also to focus attention on thehomeless subpopulations that are the most in need, and those that represent federalfunding priorities set forth by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development(HUD).Inadditiontothemainfindingspresentedinthebodyofthisreport,AppendixAincludeschartsillustratingtheresponsestoallsurveyquestionsthatwerepartofthe2017Point-In-TimeCount.

II.DataCollectionandMethodology

RequirementsfortheCountAspartofitsContinuumofCare(CoC)applicationforhomelessnessfunding,HUDrequiresthatjurisdictionsacrossthenationconductastatisticallyreliableandunduplicatedcountofthehomelessforoneovernightperiodduringthelast10daysofJanuary.NewJersey’sContinuums of Care (regional networks of organizations, agencies, and communitystakeholders that plan local efforts to help the homeless) conduct an annual count ofshelteredhomelesspersons(i.e.personsinemergencyshelter,transitionalhousingforthehomeless,andSafeHavenprograms)andatleastabiennialcountofunshelteredhomelesspersons.IntheirPoint-In-TimeCount,CoCsmustcountandreportallindividualsandfamilieswhomeet the criteria in paragraph (1)(i) of thehomelessdefinition in 24CFR91.5 ofHUD’sHomelessDefinitionRuleonthenightdesignatedforthecount. Thisincludesindividualsandfamilieswhoare:

• Sheltered, or “living in a supervised publicly or privately operated shelterdesignatedtoprovidetemporarylivingarrangement(includingcongregateshelters,transitionalhousing,andhotelsandmotelspaidforbycharitableorganizationsorbyfederal,state,orlocalgovernmentprogramsforlow-incomeindividuals),”or

• Unsheltered, “withaprimarynighttimeresidencethat isapublicorprivateplace

notdesignedfororordinarilyusedasaregularsleepingaccommodationforhumanbeings, including a car, park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport, orcampingground.”

BecausethisreportfocusesonthoserespondentswhomeetHUD’sdefinitionofhomeless,it does not include information about those who may be at risk of homelessness,precariouslyhoused,orconsideredhomelessunderotherfederalstatutes.Personswho,onthenightofthecount,were livingdoubledupwithanotherhousehold, living in illegalorovercrowded units, being discharged from a jail or health facility with no subsequentresidence, scheduled tobeevicted,orpaying for itsownmotelunitwerenotconsidered


homeless. All survey information collected for respondents who were at risk ofhomelessnessorprecariouslyhousedwaspreservedandsharedwitheachcommunityforlocalplanningpurposes,butisnotincludedinthisreportunlessotherwisenoted.

DataCollectionMethodsMonarch Housing Associates provided each of New Jersey’s 21 counties with in-persontraining,onlinevideoandprinttrainingguides,apracticeonlinesurveytool,andtechnicalassistancetoaidinthedatacollectionprocessforNewJersey’s2017Point-In-TimeCount.Point-In-TimeCoordinatorsineachcountydisseminatedPITtrainingmaterialsandhelpedfacilitatelocalplanningaroundimplementationofthePITcountintheircommunities.Forthefourthyear,thecountofhomelesspersonswhowereshelteredonthenightofthepoint in timewasprimarily taken fromNew Jersey’sHomelessManagement InformationSystem (HMIS), while the count for the unsheltered and those sheltered by non-HMISprogramswasconductedusingaPaperSurveytool,personalinterviews,andagencyclientrecords. This strategy was designed in accordance with HUD guidance regardingconductingbothshelteredandunshelteredPoint-In-TimeCounts.The2017PITSurvey tool closelymirrors information collected inHMIS so that thedatawas comparable for important factors such as duration and episodes of homelessness,household characteristics, income, services needed, and factors contributing tohomelessness.AgenciesupdatedallHMISdatatoaccuratelyreflectthenightofthecount,and thosewith programs thatwere nonHMIS-participating submitted information frominterviewsutilizingthePaperSurveytoolthroughSurveyMonkey.

Limitations1. HUDrequiresa countof shelteredhomelesspersonsand familiesannually,butonlyabiennialcountofthosewhoareunsheltered.EventhoughNewJerseyconductsbothashelteredandunshelteredcounteachyear, thecomprehensivenessof theunshelteredcount may be influenced during the non-HUD required full count years. This reportincludescomparisondata from2013 to2017.2014and2016werenotHUDrequiredfullreportingyearswhile2013,2015,and2017were.

2. TheinformationpresentedinthisreportisbasedonsurveyinterviewsandagencyHMISrecords.Insomecases,surveyrespondentsdidnotanswereveryquestioncompletely,andhomelessprovideragenciesdidnotreportallclientinformationonthenightofthecount.Forthisreason,allchartspresentedinthisreportwillbebasedontheresponsesreceived, while all percentages will be based on the total households or individualsservedandmaynotequal100%ineachcategoryduetopossiblemissingdata.

3. BecausethePoint-In-TimeCountrepresentsonlyonenightduringthe last tendaysofJanuary, it is widely accepted that the PIT will undercount the overall homeless


population.Undercountingmayoccurduetodifficultyfindingthoselivingonthestreet,incompleteinformationforpeoplewhodonotagreetocompletethesurvey,ashortageof volunteers to cover a geographic area, or homeless persons choosing not to seekhousing services on the night of the count. This data should not be viewed as acomprehensive measurement of all families and individuals who experiencehomelessness throughout the year, but rather as aminimumnumber of personswhoexperiencehomelessnessinNewJerseyonagivennight.

De-duplicationMonarchHousingAssociatescollectedandmergedallHMISandSurveyMonkeyPoint-In-Time data from each community into its combined database. Monarch generated twounique identifiers, one more general and one more in-depth, based on the identifyinginformation for each individual record. Using a formula, these unique identifiers werecomparedtoallidentifiersforotherrecordsinthedatabasetoidentifypotentialduplicates.Allduplicatesdetectedthroughcomparisonofuniqueidentifierswerethende-duplicatedbythefollowingprocess:

1. MultipleHMISrecordswhereallfieldsmatch–asinglerecordwaspreserved,andallduplicateswereremoved;

2. Multiple SurveyMonkey records where all fields match – a single record waspreserved,andallduplicateswereremoved;

3. Comparing HMIS to SurveyMonkey records where unique identifiers, disabilities,incomesources,householdsize,and locationonthenightof thecountallmatch–theHMISrecordwaspreservedandtheSurveyMonkeyduplicateswereremoved.

Following this de-duplication of the data, communities were given preliminary data toreview all identified duplicates and recordswithmissing data. Communitieswere thenable to update records with missing information and/or request any additional de-duplication they determined prudent. Monarch then updated and removed additionalrecordsbasedoncommunityfeedbackpriortocompletingitsfinalanalysisandreport.


III.FindingsforTotalHomelessPopulation

KeyFindings• On the night of January 24th, 2017 a total of 6,340 households, including 8,532

persons, were experiencing homelessness in New Jersey, according to the 2017Point-In-TimeCount.

• Atotalof1,092persons,in992households,wereidentifiedaschronicallyhomeless.• 1,357households,with1,415personswereunshelteredonthenightofthecount.

Figurei.NumberofHomelessPersonsbyCountyandPercentageofStateTotal

County

TotalHomelessPersons

%ofTotalHomelessPersons

ChronicHomelessPersons

%ofChronicHomelessPersons

UnshelteredHomelessPersons

%ofUnshelteredHomelessPersons

Atlantic 422 4.9% 105 9.6% 109 7.7%Bergen 302 3.5% 3 0.3% 5 0.4%Burlington 604 7.1% 113 10.3% 44 3.1%Camden 540 6.3% 56 5.1% 78 5.5%CapeMay 119 1.4% 13 1.2% 6 0.4%Cumberland 151 1.8% 15 1.4% 39 2.8%Essex 2,048 24.0% 182 16.7% 428 30.2%Gloucester 128 1.5% 3 0.3% 4 0.3%Hudson 822 9.6% 176 16.1% 184 13.0%Hunterdon 130 1.5% 17 1.6% 17 1.2%Mercer 478 5.6% 71 6.5% 84 5.9%Middlesex 546 6.4% 71 6.5% 125 8.8%Monmouth 299 3.5% 49 4.5% 44 3.1%Morris 378 4.4% 73 6.7% 27 1.9%Ocean 224 2.6% 24 2.2% 43 3.0%Passaic 449 5.3% 58 5.3% 89 6.3%Salem 17 0.2% 0 0% 4 0.3%Somerset 244 2.9% 3 0.3% 5 0.4%Sussex 99 1.2% 10 0.9% 12 0.8%Union 475 5.6% 43 3.9% 55 3.9%Warren 57 0.7% 7 0.6% 13 0.9%Total 8,532 100% 1,092 100% 1,415 100%


TotalHomelessPopulationOn the night of January 24th, 2017, a total of 8,532 persons, in 6,340 households, wereexperiencinghomelessnessinNewJersey,accordingtothe2017Point-In-TimeCount.Thisisadecreaseof409persons(4.6%)and219households(3.3%)from2016.

Figure1showsthat,in2017,5,263homelesspersonsstayedinemergencyshelters,1,832stayedintransitionalhousing,22wereinsafehavens,and1,415werelivingunshelteredonthenightof thecount.Whencomparingto2016,decreasesareseen inthenumberofhomelesspersonsstaying inemergencyshelter(266persons,4.8%), transitionalhousing(118persons, 6.1%), and thoseunsheltered (27persons, 1.9%).While this is true, therewas a slight increase in the number of persons in safe havens counted in 2017 whencomparedto2016(2persons,10%).Figure1alsoshowsthat,overthepastfiveyears,thetotalnumberofhomelesspersonshasbeenconsistentlydeclining.NewJerseyhasseenanoveralldecreaseof3,470persons,or28.9%from2013to2017.Overthis5-yearperiod,therewasa27.1%decreaseinpersonsstaying in emergency shelter and a 45.5% decrease in persons staying in transitionalhousing. There was a slight increase of 1.1% forpersons living unsheltered, and an increase of 15.8%for persons staying in safe haven programs between2013 and 2017. Between 2013 and 2017, thehomelesspopulationhasdecreasedatanaveragerateof8%annually.AsFigure2shows,1%ofthehomelesshouseholds inNewJerseyin2017reportedthattheirlastpermanent


addresspriortobecominghomelesswasoutsideofthestate.

HomelessFamiliesandIndividualsWhenreadingthedataregardingdifferenttypesofhomelesshouseholds,itisimportantforthereadertorememberthat,inthisreport,‘household’means“anygroupofpersonswho,iftheywereabletoattainpermanenthousing,wouldchoosetolivetogether;and,sharedthe same sleeping arrangements on the night of the count.” Three different types ofhouseholdsarediscussedbelow:householdswithadultsandchildrenunder18(‘families’),householdswithout children (‘individuals’), andhouseholdswithonly childrenunder18(‘unaccompaniedyouth’).

Ofthe6,340homelesshouseholdscounted inNew Jerseyin 2017,1,017(16%)werefamilieswithatleastone childunder theage of 18and oneadult. Thisis adecrease ofabout

10.9%from2016.These families included3,096persons, including1,886childrenunderage18and1,210adults.Theaveragefamilysizewas3persons.Figure3showsthat717families (70.5%)were staying in emergency shelters. Therewere 7 unsheltered familieswith adults and children, including 19 persons. This is a decrease of 19 unshelteredfamilies(73.1%)from2016.5,275 (83.2%) of the homeless households in New Jersey were households withoutchildrenunder18,andtheywerecomposedof5,382adults.Thisisadecreaseof2%fromthenumberofadultonlyhouseholdsin2016.Themajorityofadultonlyhouseholds(56%)werestayinginemergencysheltersonthenightofthecount.1,348adultonlyhouseholdswereunshelteredin2017,anincreaseof47households(3.6%)from2016.AsFigure3indicates,49householdswithonlychildrenunder18yearsoldwerereportedin 2017, an increase of 15 households from2016. 65.3%of these unaccompanied youthhouseholds were staying in emergency shelters. Unlike 2016, where there were nounshelteredyouth,therewas1unshelteredyouthhouseholdin2017.


DemographicsTherewere a total of 761 (8.9%) homeless adults between 18 and 24 years old, 5,828(68.3%)adultsoverage24,and1,939(22.7%)childrenunder18yearsoldexperiencinghomelessnessonthenightofthecount.Figure4showsthatsimilarto2016,theagerangemostrepresentedisAdultsbetween45and54(1,628persons,19.1%).

59.3%(5,060)ofhomelesspersonsweremale,40.3%(3,435)werefemale,and17(0.2%)weretransgender.49.9%(4,260)ofpersons identified their raceasBlackorAfrican-American,making thisthe largest racial subgroup of homeless persons counted. The next largest group self-identifiedasWhite (39.7%,3,384persons), followedby those identifying asMulti-Racial(1.7%, 148 persons).With regard to ethnicity, 19.7%ofpersonsidentifiedthemselvesasHispanic.DisabilitiesFigure 5 illustrates that 46.2% of homeless personsreported having some type of disability. 57.3% ofadults 18 or older reported some type of disabilitycompared to 8.4% of children. Figure 6 shows thenumber of the homeless persons that identified ashaving various disabilities. The most commondisabilities included mental health issues andsubstanceabusedisorders.


Among disabled adults, 56.8% reported mental health issues making this the mostprevalentdisability;representing32.6%of the totaladulthomelesspopulation.47.7%ofdisabledadults reporteda substanceabusedisorder.Amongdisabledhomeless children,46%reportedadevelopmentaldisability.

VictimsofDomesticViolenceOn the night of the count, in NewJersey, 828 homeless households(13.1% of all households) reportedhavingavictimofdomesticviolence,this is an increase of 3 householdsfrom 2016. The majority of thesehouseholds (59.9%)were adult-onlyhouseholds. 326 (39.4%) of thevictimhouseholdswerefamilieswithatleast1adultand1childandtherewere 6 youth only households thatreported being a victim of domesticviolence. 17% of domestic violencehouseholdswere unsheltered on thenightofthecount.

VeteransIn its plan, Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, theUnited States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) has prioritized endinghomelessnessamongveteransby2015.ManycommunitiesinNewJerseyhavealsobeenworkinghardtoendhomelessnessamongourcountry’sservicemenandwomen.


583homelessveteranswerecountedonthenightofthe2017count,an increaseof 24 persons (4.3%) from 2016. 559veterans(95.9%)wereindividualadults,9 veterans (1.4%) were in adult onlyhouseholds, and 15 veterans (2.6%)wereinfamilieswithchildrenundertheage of 18. The largest contingent ofhomeless veterans was found to bestaying in transitional housing (56.6%).Therewere 89 unsheltered veterans, in2017. This is an increase of 16

unshelteredveteransfrom2016.The large majority of veterans were male (92.5%).The most common racial background identifiedamong homeless veterans was White (47.7%).Another 47.5% identified as Black or AfricanAmerican. Figure 9 Illustrates the percentage ofveteransbyagerange.24 veterans reported being victims of domesticviolence with the largest contingent (13 veteranvictims,54.2%)stayinginemergencysheltersonthe

nightofthecount.462homelessveterans(79.2%)reportedhavingsomekindofdisability.The most common disabilities reported were mental health issues (65.6%), substanceabusedisorders(57.6%)andchronichealthconditions(54.5%).34.7% of veteran households reported no source of cash income. 13.9% of homelessveterans reportedearned incomewhile4.1%reported receivingVAPension incomeand14.3%reportedreceivingVADisabilityincome.Inregardstonon-cashbenefits,11.7%ofhomeless veterans reported no connection to non-cash benefits, and 57.7% of veteranhouseholds said theywere connected toVAMedicalBenefits. 5.3%ofhomelessveteranhouseholds indicated they would like toreceiveassistancewithVeteranServices.

IncomeandBenefitsAmong all households experiencinghomelessness on the night of the count,38.7% had no source of income, and11.8% reported having earned income.The most common sources of incomeamong homeless households were SSI(21.1%)andGeneralAssistance(13.3%).


Figure11showtheaveragemonthlyincomeamonghouseholdsineachhousingsituation.

18.9%ofhomelesshouseholdsreportedreceivingnokindofnon-cashbenefitonthenightof the count. Medicaid was the top reported non-cash benefit, received by 50.9% ofhomeless households. Food Stamps (SNAP), was the second most reported non-cashbenefitreceivedby41.4%ofhomelesshouseholds.

LengthofHomelessnessAsseeninFigure12,20% of homelesshouseholds reportedthat their mostrecent, continuousepisode ofhomelessness wasmore than 1 year.This was the mostcommon responseamonghouseholds, followedbythosewhohadbeenhomeless1 to3months(19.1%). Inlooking at those households that had lengths of homelessness exceeding one year, 458households(36.2%)werehomelessbetween2and5years,while17.2%,(218households)reportedtheirhomelessexceeded5years.CauseofHomelessnessWhenaskedtosharetheprimaryfactorthatcontributedto,orcaused,theirhomelessness,morehouseholdsattributedtheirhomelessnesstobeingaskedtoleaveasharedresidence(1,304 households, 20.6%) than any other cause. As Figure 13 shows, the next mostcommon factor reported was eviction (13.8%) followed by a loss or reduction of jobincome(12.8%).When households were asked ‘what was your residence prior to your current livingsituation?’moresaidtheywerestayingor livingwith friendsor family(17.9%)thananyother type of residence. 17.2% reported residing in permanent housing and 13.9%reportedresidinginanemergencyshelterpriortotheircurrentlivingsituation.

Figure11.AverageMonthlyIncomeForHouseholdsbyHousingSituation Emergency

ShelterTransitionalHousing

SafeHaven Unsheltered

AverageforAllHouseholds $493.51 $618.02 $719.88 $387.66


IV.FindingsfortheChronicallyHomelessHUD issued its final rule on the definition of chronic homelessness in 2015. Under thisdefinition, someone with a long-term disabling condition, who has been continuallyhomelessforayearormore,oratleastfourtimesinthepastthreeyearswherethelengthoftimeinthoseepisodesadduptoayearormore,meetsHUD’sdefinitionofchronicallyhomeless.Anyfamilywithaheadofhouseholdthatmeetsthisdefinitionisconsideredachronicallyhomelessfamily.HUDhasestablishedagoalofendingchronichomelessnessby2017.Thisgoalreflectstheurgencyofhelpingtohousethosepersonswhohavenotbeenabletoremainstablyhousedoverthecourseofanextendedperiodoftime.ChronicallyHomelesspersonsareamongthemost vulnerable homeless groups, and providing effective supportive services and casemanagement may be required in order to help some stay in the housing they need.Prioritization of new Continuum of Care funding opportunities has recently been givingsomecommunitiesinNewJerseynewresourcesforhousingthissubgroup.


TotalChronicallyHomelessPopulation992 households, made up of 1,092 persons, were chronically homeless in New Jersey,accordingtothe2017Point-In-TimeCount.Thisisanincreaseof259households(35.3%),and256persons(30.6%)from2016.TherateofchronichomelessnessasapercentageofoverallhomelessnessinNewJerseyincreasedfrom9.4%in2016to12.8%in2017.

Figure 14 shows the number of chronically homeless persons who were in emergencyshelters,safehavensor livingunshelteredinNewJerseyfrom2013to2017.Overthis5-year period, therewas a decrease in the chronically homeless population in emergencyshelters (21.6%), but an increase of 25% for safe havens, and 12.1% of chronicallyhomeless living unsheltered. While there was an increase in the number of chronicallyhomeless from 2016, Figure 14 shows a 23.4% decrease from the peak of chronichomelessnessin2015,to2017.

FamiliesandIndividualsOf the 992 chronically homelesshouseholds counted in 2017, 37(3.7%) were households with atleast1 adult and1 child; 4 (9.8%)less than 2016. 2 unshelteredchronicallyhomelessfamilieswereidentified in2017,2 less thanwascountedin2016.954 chronically homelesshouseholds (96.2%) were adult-


only households, composed of 977 persons. The majority of adult-only chronicallyhomelesshouseholds(55.7%)were inemergencyshelter,while43.3%wereunshelteredonthenightofthecount.Therewas1youthonlyhousehold,ahouseholdonlycomposedofanindividualundertheageof18,countedaschronicallyhomelessonthenightofthecount.Thisindividualyouthwasbeingservedinanemergencyshelterprogram.

DemographicsOf the 1,092 total chronicallyhomelesspersons,theagerangewiththe highest concentration ofchronically homeless persons wasadults between 45 and 54 years old(322persons,29.5%).Theagerangedistribution shown in Figure 16shows a similar pattern as to whatwasfoundin2016.67.2% of chronically homelesspersons were male, 32.2% werefemaleand2weretransgender.The largest racial subgroup ofchronicallyhomelesspersonsreportedtheirraceasWhite(48.1%).Thenextlargestgroupself-identified as Black or African-American (45.6%), followed by persons identifying asMulti-Racial (1.8%). With regard to ethnicity, 16.8% of chronically homeless personsidentifiedthemselvesasHispanic.

DisabilitiesIn order to meet the definition ofchronically homeless, at least oneadult ineachhouseholdmusthavesome kind of disability. Thedisabilities most commonlyidentified were mental healthissues (55.3%) and substanceabuse disorders (44%). Thechronically homeless populationwithmentalhealthissuesrepresent16%ofthehomelessadultdisabledpopulation and 28.1% of thehomelessadultdisabledpopulationwithmentalhealthissues.


SubpopulationsOn the night of the count, 130 chronically homeless households in New Jersey reportedbeingavictimofdomesticviolence(11.9%).Themajorityofthesehouseholds(70,53.8%)wereinemergencyshelterprogramswhiletheremaining59(45.4%)wereunsheltered.Therewere68veteransidentifiedaschronicallyhomelessonthenightofthecount(6.9%).This represents an increase of 28 chronically homeless veterans (70%) as compared to2016. Among the chronically homeless veterans identified in 2017, 37 (54.4%)were inemergencyshelters,and31(45.6%)wereunsheltered.

IncomeandBenefitsAmong all thechronicallyhomelesshouseholds onthe night of thecount, 37.9%reportedreceiving no typeof cash income.Figure 18 showsthe sources ofincome received.The mostcommon sourceof cash incomeamong allchronicallyhomelesshouseholds wasSSI, which was received by 29.3%, followed by General Assistance (16.8%). 3.9% ofchronicallyhomelesshouseholdsreportedhavingearnedincome.14.5%of chronically homeless households reported theywere not receiving any type ofnon-cashbenefitonthenightofthecount.Medicaidwasthetopreportednon-cashbenefitamong thispopulation,with49.4%reportingreceiving thisbenefit.42.5%ofhouseholdsalsoreportedbeingconnectedtoFoodStamps(SNAP).


LengthofHomelessnessFigure 19 shows thatsimilar to 2016, themajority of chronicallyhomeless households(48.1%) reported thattheir most recent,continuous episode ofhomelessnesshad lastedformore than1year.Ofthesehouseholds,23.7%(113), reported theirhomelessnesslastinglongerthan5years.

CauseofHomelessnessWhenaskedtosharetheprimaryfactorthatcontributedto,orcaused,theirhomelessness,more chronically homeless households cited being asked to leave a shared residence(15.8%)thananyother.AsFigure20shows,thenextmostcommonfactorswerealossorreductioninjobincome(12.8%)andeviction(10.7%).


V.FindingsfortheUnshelteredHomelessHUD’s definition of “unsheltered homeless” applies to any individual or family “with aprimarynighttimeresidencethatisapublicorprivateplacenotdesignedfororordinarilyused as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including a car, park,abandonedbuilding,busortrainstation,airport,orcampingground.”Unsheltered homeless individuals and families are among those with the most criticalhousing needs in a community. The unsheltered are especially vulnerable in the coldweather and the elements,which are in evidence at the end of Januarywhen the Counttakesplace.ThePoint-In-Timesurveycanplayanimportantrole inhelpingcommunitiesunderstandwhy some of the homeless remain unsheltered, andwho is included in thisgroup.

TotalUnshelteredHomelessPopulation1,357 households, madeup of 1,415 persons,were living unshelteredin New Jersey on thenight of the 2017 Point-in-TimeCount.Thisisanincrease of 30households(2.3%),butadecrease of 27 persons(1.9%)from2016.These1,415unshelteredpersonsmadeup16.6%ofNewJersey’stotal2017homelesspopulation.Figure21showsthenumberofunshelteredpersonsfrom2013to2017.Between2013and2015 the unsheltered population decreased by 30.4%, however, since 2015 theunshelteredpopulationhasincreasedby45.3%.

FamiliesandIndividualsOfthe1,357unshelteredhouseholdscountedin2017,7(0.5%)werefamilieswithatleast1adultand1child,composedof19persons.Thisisadecreaseof19families(73.1%)from2016.Themajor portion of theunshelteredpopulation (1,348households, 99.3%)were adult-only households, composed of 1,394 persons. This is an increase of 47 adult-onlyhouseholdsfrom2016.Therewas1unshelteredyouthonlyhouseholdinNewJerseyin2017.


DemographicsSimilar to 2016, the largestportion of the 1,415unsheltered persons countedin 2017, 30%, was between45and54yearsoldasFigure22illustrates.Most unsheltered personswere male (75.3%), while23.8%werefemale,and0.2%(3persons)weretransgender.38.6%ofunshelteredpersonsidentified their race as Blackor African-American and 38.2% identified asWhite.With regards to ethnicity, 19.7% ofunshelteredpersonsidentifiedasHispanic.

Disabilities858 of the 1,415unsheltered persons(60.6%) reported havingsome kind of disability.The disabilities mostcommonly identifiedwere mental healthissues (57.6%) andsubstance abusedisorders (57.6%). Thecomplete numbers ofreported disabilitiesamong the unshelteredcanbeseeninFigure23.

SubpopulationsOnthenightofthecount,142unshelteredpersonsinNewJerseyreportedbeingavictimofdomesticviolence(10%),anincreaseof8from2016.Therewere 89 unsheltered veteran households identified on the nights of the count, 16morethan2016,representing6.3%oftheunshelteredadultpopulation.


IncomeandBenefitsAmong all theunshelteredhouseholdsonthe night ofthecount,541(39.9%)reportedhaving nosourceof cashincome. Theaveragemonthlyincomeamongunshelteredhouseholdswasapproximately$388,anincreaseof$65fromtheaverageincomereportedin2016.19.6%of unsheltered households received SSI, making it the most common source of income.Figure24showsallofthesourcesofincomereceived.229 unsheltered households (16.9%) reported theywere not receiving any type of non-cash benefit on the night of the count. Food Stamps (SNAP) andMedicaidwere the topreported non-cash benefits among this group, with 26.8% and 25.4% receiving each ofthesebenefits,respectively.

LengthofHomelessnessAs shown in Figure25, similar to 2016,more unshelteredhomeless householdsreported that theirmost recent,continuousepisodeofhomelessness hadlastedforoverayearthananyotherlengthof time (44.5%).Another 17.4% of

households reported theyhadbeenhomelessbetween6monthsand1year.Thismeansthat 61.9% of unsheltered households had been living on the streets for more than 6


months.Ofthosehouseholdsreportingalengthofhomelessnessthatexceeded1year,169households(28%),reportedtheirlengthofhomelessnesslastedlongerthan5years.

CauseofHomelessnessWhenaskedtosharetheprimaryfactorthatcontributedto,orcaused,theirhomelessness,moreunshelteredhouseholdssaidlossorreductionofjobincome(19.5%)thananyotherfactor.Figure26givethefulllistofresponsesprovidedbyunshelteredhouseholds.


VI.AppendixWheredidyouspendthenightofJanuary24th2017?


Howlonghaveyoubeeninyourcurrentlivingsituation?


WhowashomelesswithyouonthenightofthePointinTimecount?


HouseholdCharacteristics–checkallthatapplytoeachperson



Wherewasyourlastpermanentaddressbeforebecominghomeless?Fig.A.8.NumberofHomelessHouseholdsbyStateorCountryofLast

PermanentAddressLastPermanentAddress–State/Country NumberofHouseholdsArizona 1California 6Colorado 3Connecticut 7Delaware 5Florida 32Georgia 6Kentucky 1Louisiana 1Maine 2Maryland 5Massachusetts 3Michigan 1Minnesota 2Mississippi 1Nevada 1NewJersey 5,131NewYork 62NorthCarolina 16Ohio 4Pennsylvania 73SouthCarolina 6Tennessee 1Texas 7Virginia 10Denmark 1DominicanRepublic 1India 1PuertoRico 6


Whatwasyourresidencepriortoyourcurrentlivingsituation?


Whichofthefollowingsourcesofincomeornon-cashbenefitsdoyou,oranyoneinyourhousehold,receive?



Whatisyourmonthlyhouseholdincome?


Wouldyou,oranyoneinyourhousehold,liketoreceiveanyofthefollowingservices?


Whatwastheprimaryfactorthatcontributedto,orcaused,yourcurrentlivingsituation?

Documents

2017 PIT Report - New Jersey - Monarch Housing...NEW JERSEY’S 2017 POINT-IN-TIME COUNT 3 I. Introduction NJ Counts 2017 NJ Counts 2017, New Jersey’s annual Point-In-Time (PIT)