Happy New Year! This month, we are happy to share with you updates on our work from the end of 2022 and showcase our partners and their support of our residents.

Well over a decade ago, three sisters and two friends were experiencing the growing pains of their children getting older and some of the magic of Christmas fading away. They decided to find a way to channel their feelings into something positive for people outside of their family and Friends of Fraser came to life. Named for the street that three of the five members lived on at the time, this vision for helping over the holiday season led Friends of Fraser to Amandla Crossing, operated by Making It Possible to End Homelessness, now Mission First Supportive Housing: Edison.

Friends of Fraser is not a formal organization and they do not fundraise to support their work at Amandla Crossing. Rather, it is a group of women dedicated to giving back to their community. Each of the five members has a full-time job in healthcare, automotive repair or retail. Every year starting in August, they utilize their network and personal funds to secure what they need to create an impressive Christmas Party for our residents at Amandla Crossing, our 30-apartment permanent supportive housing development for homeless individuals and families.

Through recruiting friends and family to sponsor gifts for the children and soliciting supply donations from community organizations and retailers, Friends of Fraser is able to provide a special night with food and dessert, gifts, a DJ, arts and crafts, prize raffles and more for the children and adult residents. They also recruit their siblings, children and extended families to volunteer at the event to help ensure everyone has a nice time.

When asked why Friends of Fraser continues to work with us, founding member Melinda Rinker said working with Director of Program Management Melissa Mascolo all of these years has built a solid relationship allowing for ease of planning and execution. Melinda recalls the initial phone call she had with Melissa – five minutes of time blossomed into years of friendship and service. She also said “The residents appreciate everything we do. They ask if we are coming back and they look forward to us coming.”

Melinda remembers one Christmas when the Friends of Fraser raffled off a like-new television and the resident that won cried all the way back to her apartment overwhelmed with the emotions of having something valuable that was “hers.” The gravity of realizing that these residents come from homelessness to live at Amandla Crossing and a used TV brought so much joy and pride to a resident still touches her heart.



Over the past 3 years due to COVID, the Friends of Fraser have not been able to come and interact directly with the residents, but the party still goes on and their spirit shines through in all they provide to the residents. This year, Friends of Fraser sponsored a total of 46 children at Imani Park and Amandla Crossing and provided gift baskets to raffle off as incentives to residents. They hope to be back in person next year. Friends of Fraser also donates living essentials and supply baskets throughout the year. Our partnership with this special group of women is invaluable.

Thank you once again to Friends of Fraser for supporting our families during the 2022 Holiday Season!

If you have any questions or want to support Friends of Fraser’s work at Amandla Crossing, email 4friendsoffraser@gmail.com.

In late 2019, Eileen O’Donnell of Coming Home approached Melissa Mascolo from Mission First Supportive Housing: Edison and colleagues and fellow Continuum of Care members Home, Catholic Charities, Rutgers UBHC, Elijah’s Promise and Woman Aware to develop the Middlesex County Consumer Participation Committee (CPC). The group was established with the goal of more effectively reducing homelessness in Middlesex County through the incorporation of persons with lived experience in the collective work of the Continuum of Care.

Meeting virtually through the COVID pandemic, the cohort arrived at a set of objectives from which they could achieve their stated goals.

They began establishing best practices and institutionalizing processes agencies can use to afford persons with lived experience of homelessness the ability to become actively and genuinely involved in defining the issues of concern to them. The group strategized ways to equitably involve those individuals in decision-making about factors that affect their lives; formulating and implementing polices; planning, developing and delivering services; and mobilizing to achieve change.

The Committee meets twice a month as a steering committee and full group meeting that includes residents and clients. Participant organizations also use this space to examine the County homeless system through the lens of racial equity. Clients are offered a safe space to discuss experiences interacting with the homeless and mainstream systems via NJ211, the States’ method of accessing the homelessness relief system. These steps will eventually lead to increased focus groups from various sub-populations experiencing homelessness in the County.

Melissa from Mission First acts as Co-Chair of the committee alongside Eileen. The group hosts in person meetings at the organization’s Edison sites, Amandla Crossing and Imani Park. In addition to representatives of provider organizations, the CPC includes eight individuals with lived experience of homelessness, including two current residents Mission First: Edison’s properties and one graduate of the program. By thoughtfully involving individuals with lived experience, communities and agencies are more successfully working together to identify and respond to the evolving needs and services gaps. Similarly, they are developing an understanding of those needs through the lens of those experiencing them firsthand. “We have learned more about the complex barriers to housing stability” says Melissa,” Specifically how those barriers intersect with other systems of care such as mental health, addiction recovery and healthcare. It takes time and consistency to develop and promote trust but peer support and community building are invaluable components in that process.”

Viewing challenges through a racial equity lens has made it clear that communities of color experience and remain in homelessness and poverty at a much greater rate than their white counterparts. First hand experiences, from providers and clients, detail the deep impact this has on eroding provider trust. Lack of trust in healthcare, mental health, social services systems, etc., is a negative reinforcer of housing instability. The committee learned from providers who are African American and Latino about their own personal experiences with discrimination underscoring the importance of incorporating racial equity at every level of systems work.

The formation of such a group—a safe space for those most affected—represents a positive departure from the norm, and the county is already reaping the benefit of changes to the system. The input of individuals with lived experience provides invaluable feedback that creates the meaningful and sometimes challenging conversations needed to spark change. Indeed, change is afoot. The committee has developed a request for proposals for Middlesex County to advocate for funds to support incentives for persons with lived experience to become consultants for the committee. As a result, the county issued a grant to cover food, transportation and reimbursements for participants time spent on the work. They have worked with these resident consultants closely during working meetings to develop a detailed list of systemic barriers to housing and brainstormed proposed solutions, designing and creating a pamphlet to help individuals and families navigate a path to secure housing. Finally, the group played an important role in informing the redesign of the Coordinated Assessment (CA) process in Middlesex County.

Access to a phone when navigating housing, the varying attitudes of law enforcement when dealing with male versus female individuals, as well as feedback on infrastructure and associated support systems for those negotiating the process represent a few eye-opening pieces of feedback. There is still much work ahead however.



But, as this groundbreaking collaboration proves, many different hands make light work.

Holiday Happenings at Imani Park and Amandla Crossing

The holidays were much happier for our residents thanks to our partners. Thank you to the generous organizations and individuals that supported our residents over the holiday season. This list of donors contributed cash support and an inspiring range of time and in-kind items to include providing holiday dinners, hosting festive parties, sponsoring holiday gifts for children, donating personal essentials and contributing rental support:

• Jack Ballo
• Kathy Bennett
• Catherina Cotton
• First Baptist Church
• First Presbyterian Church of Metuchen 
• Friends of Fraser
• Harriet Lacewell
• Yinin Li
• MC Pajama Program
• Kathy McKrystal & Friends
• Julie Olters
• Lou Palmer
• Rutgers Horticulture Program
• St. Luke’s Church
• Madeline Walters
• Hailey D. Zito

Mission First Supportive Housing: Edison provides permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals and families in Middlesex County. Our on-site support services offer our residents access to the resources they need to increase health, independence and housing stability. When you make a donation to Mission First Supportive Housing: Edison, you are helping to ensure that residents have the supports they need to remain successfully housed, get back on their feet and live as thriving members of the community. Your support means so much! 

Donate online by clicking below or by mail to Melissa Mascolo, Supportive Housing: Edison, c/o Amandla Crossing, 100 Mitch Snyder Drive, Edison, NJ 08837.

Want to keep up-to-date on what's going on at Edison and Mission First's other work? Follow us on social media:

Do you want to do more than make a donation?

Here are some other great ways for you to help:

• Help secure a matching gift from your employer.
• Host a fundraising event and donate the proceeds to Mission First Supportive Housing: Edison.
• Host an essential items supply drive.
• Introduce your friends, family and colleagues to Mission First Supportive Housing: Edison and encourage them to give.

Do you have ideas you’d like to discuss? Give us a call! We’d love to work with you. For more information, please contact:

• Moira Rooney, Director of Philanthropy & Communication, 267.269.3331, mrooney@missionfirsthousing.org
• Melissa Mascolo, Director of Program Management, 609.373.8550, mmascolo@missionfirsthousing.org