NEWARK, N.J. (PIX11) -- The city of Newark, NJ is about to unveil its latest community built entirely from former shipping containers.
It is part of the ongoing effort to reduce the city's homeless population.
New state data from the New Jersey Department of Consumer Affairs recently showed the number of unsheltered residents in Newark dropped 57.6 % in one year. From 3,841 in 2022, to 1,627 in 2023.
PIX11 News got a tour of Hope Village II ahead of its scheduled Jan. 8, ribbon cutting. It is being built on a formerly vacant lot on Elizabeth Avenue.
Three shipping containers, put together, become five private bedrooms with a shared kitchen, bathroom, and shower. It cost an estimated $4 Million to build and will house at least 20 people.
"We pay hundreds of thousands of dollars a month for shelters, you know, period, and that's in perpetuity as opposed to the amount of money we could spend putting people in a place where they can get the services,” Mayor Ras J. Baraka tells PIX11 News. “And then transition them out to get vouchers or transitional housing and then permanent housing."
Luis Ulerio, with Newark's Office of Homeless Services, tells PIX 11 News their success is also based on the expansion of mobile crisis teams and behavioral health providers.
There is also rental assistance for people who are struggling to pay back rent, and free legal services for residents facing illegal eviction.
Ulerio says that in 2024, the city will also start the building of Hope Village III. He added, "We have a brand-new drop-in center planned for downtown Newark, 8,000 square feet of flex space, kitchen, showers."
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