Newark
Creating a Pilot Shelter Program for Newark’s Residents Without Addresses
Bloomberg Associates worked with the city of Newark to launch an innovative 90-day program to support its residents without addresses.
About
Newark Hope Village will provide a welcoming atmosphere, where our most vulnerable have an opportunity to re-engage in services in a safe and therapeutic shelter.
Ras J. Baraka, Mayor of Newark
Relevant Expertise
Support Marginalized and Vulnerable Populations
- Homelessness Counts and Interventions
Challenge
Each winter across New Jersey, when temperatures drop to dangerous levels of cold, the City of Newark enacts CODE BLUE. This policy releases emergency funds for facilities and shelters across the city to open their doors to bring inside any resident without shelter.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to meet safety standards, the City’s shelter capacity is already limited, and on those coldest of nights, many of the shelter doors will remain closed.
To address the pressing need for shelter and housing due to the pandemic the City of Newark sought the expertise of Bloomberg Associates to help pilot a new, innovative form of shelter. This model for supportive services assisted with bringing a vulnerable group of residents, who were without shelter long term, inside as a community cohort.
Approach
The Bloomberg Associates team worked with the City of Newark to design and deliver the Hope Village. Developed in 90 days to address the urgent need to bring people indoors during Winter, the program used seven 40’ metal shipping containers, transforming them into 20 code-compliant modular residences. The site was designed for individuals who have been living outside of shelter for a long time or who struggle to engage with change and services. Hope Village is an open site, providing individual, furnished rooms with access to private showers, for singles, couples, or small families. The site provides communal outdoor space as well as an administrative unit for the support staff and consultation space. The program for the Village is “low-threshold”, meaning it makes minimal demands of each resident and aims to provide on-on-one case management and support to encourage the residents to work toward change.
Impact
The Hope Village model is the first of its kind in the City of Newark. Additionally, it is one of only three container home projects in the United States to meet the International Code Council (ICC) building codes for safe human habitation. In this initial pilot program, Newark Hope Village housed 24 homeless individuals. Following the great success of the Hope Village pilot program, City of Newark plans to develop four more villages to further support Newark’s residents without addresses.
Metrics
7 containers converted into working shelters
12 residents completed applications for permanent housing
25 individuals brought into shelter at the Hope Village
Top photo: Chrystofer Davis (@dolo_foto)