New Jersey Acting Gov. Tahesha Way announced on Nov. 11 that the state will spend more than $30 million in a public/private partnership over the next two years to help end veteran homelessness in the state.
The Bringing Veterans Home initiative is the first time the state government will partner with veteran service groups in the state. The initiative will be led by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMAVA).
“We must always take the time to express our gratitude and honor the bravery and selflessness of our veterans,” Way said in a statement. “The courageous men and women who have served our country should never bear the weight of homelessness. Our Administration is committed to connecting veterans with the resources they need for the housing they deserve.”
Gov. Phil Murphy echoed Way’s comments.
“New Jersey veterans deserve our utmost respect and support—after serving our country, they should never worry about where they will sleep at night,” Murphy said in the statement. “My Administration is proud to partner with our veteran service organizations to invest in the fight against veteran homelessness and ensure that it will be rare and brief in New Jersey.”
The more than $30 million for the initiative comes from state and federal funds and will be used to help place more than 1,000 homeless veterans in stable housing, according to the Murphy administration. The effort will be led by DCA’s Office of Homelessness Prevention in partnership with the DMAVA.
Beginning in early 2025, homeless veterans and service members will be able to self-enroll in the initiative by applying, calling the state’s homelessness hotline, or visiting a homelessness service provider affiliated with the U.S. Deptartment of Veterans Affairs (VA), DCA, DMAVA, or a member of the state’s Continuums-of-Care.
In addition, there will be outreach teams who will directly engage with veterans in encampments or unsheltered conditions.
One Republican lawmaker praised the funding, but also said that more needs to be done for veterans in the state.
“While this is a good first step, we need to do much more to really have a significant impact on not only homelessness, but all of the issues that veterans face as they adjust to civilian life,” Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger (R-Middletown) told The Epoch Times via text.
“I am a big believer in public/private partnerships since it allows more to be done with the limited resources of government.”
He said that a better job needs to be done to identify the root causes of veteran homelessness.
According to Scharfenberger, in many cases, there are medical issues, substance abuse, mental health problems, lack of employment opportunities, and other issues. He said these are “challenges that all combine to put veterans in a position where they have trouble supporting themselves, which in turn, leads to homelessness.” He said that hopefully, the new federal administration will make fixing the problems at the VA a priority.
New Jersey’s homeless rate has risen sharply, with a 24 percent increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness since 2023, according to the latest Monarch Housing report. Of the 12,680 identified as homeless, 518 were veterans, representing 5.4 percent of the adult homeless population.
