What Does Homelessness Look Like in New Jersey?

The Corporation for Supportive Housing, which leads the annual point-in-time homeless count conducted by all New Jersey Continuums-of-Care, has released the data from the January 25, 2007 count. A Summary of the statewide findings and Full Report with county-level data are available on their website.

• The report finds that on the day in question there were 14,939 homeless persons in New Jersey, including 2,542 children. The count surveyed sheltered (10,510) and unsheltered (1,887) homeless adults and also requested information regarding any children in the household (note that participants in the count expressed concern at the time that the results would undercount children because of survey design issues). – Families, as counted, represented 20% of the population.
• Among demographic trends in the survey responses are the findings that:
• Homelessness is present in every county and that there are trends of both urban and rural homelessness, although rural homelessness is harder to count due to poorer service networks.
• 50% of adults were male, 41% female, 1% transgender, and 10% unknown
  Nearly 80% were white, about 15% Black, and the remaining adults reported as Asian or other (no separate Hispanic category)
• 30% were living in shelters, 18% in hotels/motels, 23% in transitional housing, 15% on the streets, and 14% did not indicate.

Families were primarily in transitional housing and motels

• 61% of adult respondents had at least one “disabling condition” (mental illness, substance abuse, severe medical condition, and/or HIV/AIDS)
• 31% indicated that they had experienced at least 4 episodes of homelessness in the last 3 years.
• 21% had been homeless for less than three months, 34% had been homeless between three months and one year, 33% had been homeless more than one year.