Members of the Cumberland County Housing First Collaborative, elected officials and the media shivered from the biting cold in a press conference near the banks of the Cohansey River to announce the launch of an initiative to end chronic homelessness in Cumberland County by 2020.

     But within an hour of the start of the press conference, everyone there was able to return to warm homes or offices or faith-based organizations to find comfort once again. Not so for the homeless who walk the streets in Cumberland County until the Code Blue warming centers open later that day. The thought of anyone out and unprotected from the cold emphasized the importance of the work of the Cumberland County Housing First Collaborative.

     Through the state's Housing First initiative, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs selected Gateway Community Action Partnership as the lead agency to manage the distribution of 42 State Rental Assistance Program (SRAP) vouchers and $21,000 in additional funding for coordinated services to house the homeless.

     Other partners include the M25 Initiative, founded and headed by Gateway board member Rev. Dr. Robin Weinstein, Resources for Independent Living, Puerto Rican Action Committee (PRAC), Revive South Jersey, Cumberland County Jail, Inspira Health Network, and CompleteCare, which is led by its President and CEO Curtis Edwards, another Gateway board member. This initiative is also supported by Monarch Housing.

     "As I left my office to come here, I had a homeless person at my office, needing shelter, needing warmth," said Albert B. Kelly, Gateway's President and CEO. "I was also informed this morning that at our Mill Creek Urban Farm, we had a homeless person who went over our fence and to our greenhouses to get some warmth. That is why Gateway is committed to this Housing First initiative. With this Housing First initiative, the whole idea is to eradicate homeless in Cumberland County by 2020. The things we are going through with homelessness and see daily will one day be a thing of the past."

     In the Housing First approach, qualified individuals are rapidly housed to provide stability and encouraged to access support services that will enhance success. Some of the key principles are: quick access to housing, support services with assertive engagement, tenancy is not dependent on participation in services, units are targeted to the disabled and most vulnerable, embracing a harm-reduction approach and provide leases and tenant protections.

     Housing frequent users of the health care and correctional systems can lead to increased cost savings, improved quality of life and self-sufficiency and decreased shelter usage, jail recidivism and use of health care systems.

     "I appreciate the work all the partners here are doing here in our great city," Kelly said. "If it wasn't for what you are doing, many people would still be homeless and on the streets."

     VINELAND - Iris Jimenez, a Gateway IDA program success story, doesn't hesitate when asked about the hardest part of becoming a new homeowner through the Cumberland County Habitat For Humanity program.

     The hardest part, she said, is dealing with the perception that she was given something for nothing. Habitat For Humanity doesn't just give homes away. To ensure success, applicants for a home built by Habitat For Humanity must meet several qualifications. One of them is sweat.

     Jimenez has swung hammers, nailed nails, put down flooring, put up walls, installed plumbing and dirtied her hands and clothes while landscaping to meet the requirement of 250 hours of sweat equity. Actually, she has surpassed it and has volunteered on other Habitat For Humanity projects. She's also pinched pennies, successfully saved through Gateway's IDA program, attended financial literacy and Gateway homebuyer classes, made sacrifices and filled out more forms than she could count. The mortgage is all hers, too.

     So don't tell Jimenez, a proud woman, that she is getting something for nothing. She's earned her way through the front door of her new home in Vineland.

Gateway Community Action Partnership played a part. Because of Gateway's IDA program, a matched savings program, Jimenez was able to pay for the closing costs on her home. Laura Stanton, Gateway's Director of Literacy Services, directs the IDA program for the agency.

     "Gateway's IDA program helped immensely," Jimenez said. "The closing costs were more than $3,700. The closing is not free. I had to come to the table with money."

     Gateway's IDA program is a dollar for dollar matched savings program that encourages clients to make regular savings deposits in order to achieve important life goals such as purchasing a first home, starting a business, or getting an education. As part of program requirements, clients must compete financial literacy education requirements, such as first time homebuyes education and basic financial literacy, that will help them with long-term financial success. Through this program, Jimenez earned $1200 towards her closing costs since joining the program in 2014.
     Currently the program is not open to new clients, but interested individuals can call Stanton at (856) 497-6645 to be placed on a waiting list.

Jimenez also credited others for this new and exciting chapter in her life. Mostly, she thanked the Cumberland County Habitat For Humanity volunteers, who have become like a family as they built her home. "These people are amazing," she said. "They give so much of themselves."

     Jimenez, an office manager at Allied Positions of South Jersey, has two sons. When one of them walked into his room for the first time, he told his mother that he felt "odd."

     "I asked him why," she said. "He said it was because he never had his own room before. We've moved four times since 2009. When we were in our last place, I vowed that we would not move again until we were moving into our own home.

     "I did it, and my kids watched me do it. I hope someday they look back and say, "Wow, my mom really did this.'''

Gateway Community Action Partnership's Literacy Services Department will conduct two Literacy Volunteers tutor training sessions beginning January 10, 2017.  Space for tutors trainings is available, but pre-registration is required. Trained tutors will work one-on-one with adult learners who need help reading, writing, or speaking English.

A Bridgeton class will be held 5 consecutive Tuesday mornings from 9 am to 12 p.m. at Gateway Community Action Partnership, 110 Cohansey Street, Bridgeton. Class dates are January 10, 17, 24, 31 and February 7, with a snow date of February 14.

A Vineland class will be held 5 consecutive Wednesday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. at PathStone Corporation, 76 W. Landis Ave., Suite C, Vineland. Class dates are January 11, 18, 25 and February 1 and 8, with a snow date of February 15.

Residents of Cumberland and Salem counties can register for the training.

The training is free and open to the public, but tutor trainees must attend at least four of the five sessions to graduate and become certified to tutor. Tutors will be trained in ESL and basic literacy.

Gateway has provided literacy services in Cumberland and Salem counties for the past 21 years and is accredited by Literacy New Jersey and ProLiteracy. Trained tutors generally meet one to two hours per week with learners.

For additional information, or to sign up this or future training sessions, call Laura Stanton at 856-497-6645.

     Spring Gardens Senior Housing Party! Gateway staff were able to bring joy to the residents of Spring Garden Senior Housing in Vineland by hosting its annual party. The party was filled with food, singing, raffles and gift giving. The residents also participated in a holiday door decorating contest with a large holiday basket going to the winner. Ed Bethea, Gateway's Executive Vice President and COO, led the group in song.

Welcome To Gateway CAP's New Hires!

Janice Carter, Head Start
Tito Cobb, Early Head Start
Kathryn Maguire, Head Start
Kimberly Hand, Head Start
Ardena Blake, Head Start
William Grier, Head Start
Doris Lozada-Cruz, Head Start
Grace Lugo, Head Start
Eunice Rivas, Head Start
Jamilette Rodriguez, Head Start

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