NEW YORK (PIX11) -- It’s been two years since Walter Singleton moved into a room at Hope Village, a community created out of 7 shipping containers in March of 2021 to shelter 24 homeless individuals.
Singleton said he is working on getting his life together.
A second Hope Village opened its door at the beginning of 2024 to provide transitional housing to 20 people living on the streets. Before he came here, Walter didn’t have a roof over his head for more than two decades.
“I was homeless at Penn Station for a while,” said Singleton.
At Penn Station is where PIX11 News found 38-year-old Jonathan on a cold winter morning.
“I need help with housing when it comes to substance abuse, I’m not afraid to say that, yeah, I use it,” stated Jonathan.
Not too far from him, we met Eugene, who described how he is frequently in and out of the hospital when he loses his medication for mental health.
For the Mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, eliminating these conditions that cause homelessness is a top priority of his 3-year plan, “The path home.” It was introduced in December 2022, with the following mission:
“To pull people off the streets and put them into places,” said Baraka.
About 2,350 individuals are currently living on the streets of Newark, according to the mayor’s office. It also says the unsheltered homeless population has decreased by 57%. Although the path to ending chronic homelessness in New Jersey’s largest city
“They need more mental health assistance and substance abuse, and better shelters,” said Kennard Jones. He oversees an independently run, nonprofit shelter that houses 47 men.
“I can say at least 7 out of 10 homeless people are addicts, either alcoholic or they are using drugs,” added Jones.
But the city says it is committed to fighting homelessness from all angles. At the beginning of this year, an expansion of outreach teams with medical and social services support integrated was announced.
“We now have outreach workers canvassing our city and providing emergency services, every single day. Every single evening and every single overnight,” said Luis Ulero, director of homeless services for the city of Newark.
Resistance to these programs, however, is a major setback.
“Have you tried staying at a shelter?” PIX11 News asked Jonathan.
“Oh my God, the shelters are horrible over here. It’s just over-crowded, I feel safer out here,” responded Jonathan.
But for individuals like Matthew and Vinny, who’ve been living in a shelter for 6 and 18 months respectively, finding their own permanent place comes with a big challenge.
“The cost,” said Matthew.
“Landlords, once you tell them you are not working and you have government assistance, they don’t want to take that,” added Vinny.
New Jersey real estate investor, Alberi Rosario explained that on top of that, in the last three years, more people are buying properties in Newark as rentals. This means they are selling for higher prices and therefore driving rental prices up.
“The average rental price in Newark is about $2,300. And then the requirements, most landlords, whenever they put someone in an apartment, they want to make sure they have good credit, good income,” said Rosario.
Hoping to alleviate this issue, the Newark Housing Authority is designating 200 public housing units to serve as transitional housing. 15 unhoused people were given keys to their temporary homes in the first week of 2025.
The city believes transitional housing has been pivotal in helping homeless individuals find their path home.
“It is a start to get yourself together when you have nowhere to go," concluded Singleton.
The City of Newark is also planning to build a new community with 24 units made from shipping containers and to open a 24/7 drop-in center with social services.
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