In this Week's Edition
News
SHA Lunch and Learn - June 16th
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HHS Launches Hotline to Improve Access to
COVID-19 Vaccines for People with Disabilities
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HUD Reminder of COVID-19
Mortgage Forbearance
Apply Before June 30th
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CMS Vaccination Effort Raises
Payments for At-Home COVID-19
Vaccinations for Medicare Beneficiaries
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NJ Home Bound Vaccine Appointments
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New CCBHC Impact Report
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DCA Draft Federal Fiscal 2021 Action Plan
Posted with Public Hearing on June 17th
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New Jersey Continues Enhancing
Addiction Treatment Efforts by
Joining Treatment Resource Project
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NJHMFA and Project Freedom
Celebrates Freedom Village
at Town Center South Grand Opening
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Foothold Technology Webinar
Looking Back and Moving Forward
with Virtual Service Delivery
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New Jersey Partners in
Policymaking Applications Open
Apply by June 25th
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New Jersey Continues Enhancing
Addiction Treatment Efforts by
Joining Treatment Resource Project
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Take Time to Focus and Renew
with Friend of SHA Erika Murphy
Resources & Virtual Forums
NJHMFA Homebuyers Webinar:
The Road Home
Somerset and Union Counties
June 15 - June 17, 2021
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Employers Association of New Jersey
Free Webinar
The Post-Pandemic Workplace:
Legal Considerations for Employers
June 21, 2021
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Innovative Partnerships
for Affordable Housing:
Working Together to Respond,
Stabilize and Recover
A Conversation with
HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge
June 21, 2021
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Expanding Your Workforce:
Webinar on Hiring People with Disabilities
June 22, 2021
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National Council for Mental Wellbeing Webinar
Pride Month: Clinical Practices and
Policies for the LGBTQ+ Community
June 25, 2021
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SHA Lunch and Learn
Making the Shift to Technology First:
Critical First Steps
June 16, 2021
12:00-1:30 PM ET
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Next SHA
Developers Meeting
1:00–3:00PM via Zoom
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Next SHA
Members Meeting
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Save the Date!
2021 Governor's
Conference on Housing and Economic Development
Virtual Event
September 29th & 30th
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New Housing Available
Check the latest new postings
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Congratulations to Phillip Lubitz, MSW, on his retirement after 25 years at NAMI NJ. With over 40 years of experience serving in the mental health community of New Jersey, we salute your contributions to the well being of our citizens through effective care and support policies.
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Bridgeway Rehabilitation, Catholic Charities of Trenton, Collaborative Support Programs of NJ, Jewish Family Services of Atlantic County, Rutgers, and Triple C Housing
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SHA Lunch and Learn
Open to the public!
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Making the Shift to Technology First: Critical First Steps
June 16, 2021 – 12:00-1:30 PM ET
Our conference last December included a virtual workshop on shifting to a "Technology First" organization. With federal investments in technology this topic is as timely as ever! Join us for an encore presentation of our December webinar including a live introduction and Q&A with Cameron Kempson, M.Ed.
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Making the Shift to Technology First: Critical First Steps Provider organizations and state agencies have begun labeling themselves as “technology first” indicating a commitment to technology integrating as a natural support for community living. But what does “technology first” really mean, and what outcomes indicate a successful tech first model?
This presentation identifies standardized best practices while exploring how education and reskilling are vital to successful implementation. Learn how two organizations made the shift to Tech First and the overall impact it has had on the culture and health of their organization AND the individuals they support.
Presenters:
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Cameron Kempson, M.Ed.
Director of Education SimplyHome, LLC
Pennsylvania
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Nick Filarelli Program Director Core Services of Northeast Tennessee
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Amanda Carroll
Manager Community Day Services Kreider Services
Illinois
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SHA Welcomes New Members In 2021
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HHS Launches Hotline to Improve Access to
COVID-19 Vaccines for People with Disabilities
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U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind national hotline to connect people with disabilities to information and services to improve access to COVID-19 vaccines.
The Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL) is now available to help people with disabilities find vaccination locations in their communities, assist callers with making vaccination appointments, and connect callers to local services – such as accessible transportation – to overcome barriers to vaccination. The hotline also can provide information and resources to answer questions and address concerns about the vaccines and can connect callers to information and services that promote independent living and address fundamental needs, such as food, housing, and transportation.
About the Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL)
The Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL) connects callers to information about how to access the COVID-19 vaccine and related supports for people with disabilities. DIAL connects callers to vaccine sites and provides information related to barriers to vaccination by referring callers to local and national disability resources. acl.gov/dial | 888-677-1199 from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM ET | DIAL@n4a.org
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HUD Reminder of COVID-19 Mortgage Forbearance
Apply Before June 30th
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The following reminder was provided by Justin Scheid, New Jersey Field Office Director of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development:
Homeowners who are behind on their FHA-insured mortgage payments can take steps to save their homes, but they must take action now.
Currently, there are well over 300,000 FHA borrowers nationally who are at least 90-days delinquent on their mortgage. HUD is asking for your assistance to communicate an available COVID-19 forbearance extension option to delinquent borrowers. In New Jersey, households with existing FHA loans in forbearance are at historic highs that range from 14.14% in Essex County to 7.10% in Cape May County.
This relief will only be available until June 30, 2021. Attached and below you will find flyers and information to provide struggling FHA homeowners with effective information to possibly prevent them from losing their homes.
If you have a mortgage that is insured by FHA and you are unable to make your mortgage payment because of COVID-19, you’re eligible for FHA’s COVID-19 Forbearance.
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If you are…
Behind or about to be behind on your mortgage payments because of COVID-19 and you have not yet requested a forbearance from your servicer…
Then
You can request up to 6 months of forbearance initially, and an additional 6 months if you need it. You must request this assistance from your mortgage servicer by June 30, 2021.
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If you are…
Already on forbearance, started your forbearance period on or before June 30, 2020, and now need more time.
Then
After 12 months of COVID-19 forbearance, you are eligible for up to two additional 3-month extensions from your mortgage servicer.
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No extra fees, penalties or interest will be added to your account.
You will have to repay any suspended or reduced payments in the future. You will not be required to pay a “lump sum” for the total missed payments at the end of the forbearance period. Your servicer will work with you on options to bring your loan current over time.
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CMS Vaccination Effort Raises Payments for At-Home COVID-19 Vaccinations for Medicare Beneficiaries
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NJ Homebound Vaccine Appointments
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While many Medicare beneficiaries can receive a COVID-19 vaccine at a retail pharmacy, their physician’s office, or a mass vaccination site, some beneficiaries have great difficulty leaving their homes or face a taxing effort getting around their communities easily to access vaccination in these settings. To better serve this group, Medicare is incentivizing providers and will pay an additional $35 per dose for COVID-19 vaccine administration in a beneficiary’s home, increasing the total payment amount for at-home vaccination from approximately $40 to approximately $75 per vaccine dose. For a two-dose vaccine, this results in a total payment of approximately $150 for the administration of both doses, or approximately $70 more than the current rate.
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New Jersey Homebound Vaccination
For those in need of vaccine appointments for homebound persons in New Jersey help is here. You or a family member may request an in-home vaccination appointment through the the NJ Department of Health by completing this Request for In-Home Vaccination.
For assistance completing the survey by phone, please call the NJ COVID-19 Vaccine Call Center at 1-855-568-0545.
After you submit the request, the Department of Health will share information with a home health agency, local health department, or other vaccination providers and you will be contacted to schedule an in-home vaccination appointment.
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Advances include:
- Expanding Access to Care
- Decreasing Wait Times for Care
- Investing in the Workforce
- Expanding Access to Medication-Assisted Treatment
- Improving Collaboration with Criminal Justice Agencies to Reduce Incarceration and Improve Crisis Response
- Addressing Health Disparities
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The following excerpted article from HUD User's PD&R Edge explored a nationwide perspective on utilizing private capital to fulfill the needs of the supportive housing community. Panelists for the 2021 Urban Land Institute (ULI) Housing Opportunity Conference described the varying approaches of their respective companies, the investors that each attracts, and the varied market segment that each serves.
Public spending forms the basis of affordable housing production or preservation. When public funds are unavailable or prioritized elsewhere, however, nongovernmental entities can fill this financing gap with private investment funds. During its 2021 Housing Opportunity Conference, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) held a webinar titled “Leveraging Investor-Funded Housing Models to Meet Broader Community Housing Needs.” In this virtual event, ULI global chief operating officer Ed Walter led three speakers in a discussion of how their firms are using private investment dollars in the affordable housing sector. Two of the speakers represented traditional investment entities, in which institutional investors contribute capital and receive a return, whereas the third discussed a neighborhood real estate investment trust, a local trust in which individuals can purchase shares.
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DCA Draft Federal Fiscal 2021 Action Plan
Posted with Public Hearing on June 17th
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The Plan sets forth priorities and serves as a guide in coordinating the delivery of limited housing, community and economic development resources to meet the needs of various program clienteles. The draft plan describes how the State of New Jersey will use its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), HOME Investment Partnership (HOME), Housing Trust Fund (HTF), Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), and Recovery Housing Program (RHP) funds to provide decent affordable housing, suitable living environments, and expand economic opportunities for low and moderate-income households.
The hearing is scheduled for June 17, 2021 from 10 AM to 11 AM.
Comments can be presented at the hearing linked above or e-mailed to Sheri Malnak at sheri.malnak@dca.nj.gov by July 8, 2021.
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New Jersey Continues Enhancing Addiction Treatment Efforts by Joining Treatment Resource Project
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Shatterproof, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to reversing the nation’s addiction crisis, is working with the Department of Human Services and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey to expand the reach of its free resource ATLAS to New Jersey. ATLAS stands for Addiction Treatment Locator, Assessment, and Standards platform.
ATLAS will bolster existing efforts by New Jersey to connect individuals and families to treatment through the 1-844-ReachNJ help line, which will continue. ReachNJ is a 24-hour-a-day, 7 day-a-week addictions hotline where people who have substance use disorder or friends and family of people with SUD can get immediate assistance and support from live, New Jersey-based, trained addiction counselors. An individual who calls the toll-free number will reach a live staff member who will help to connect them to treatment, regardless of insurance status.
On the ATLAS website, TreatmentATLAS.org, individuals can search for and compare treatment options using criteria that are important to them – such as location, particular services offered, and insurance accepted. ATLAS also allows patients to provide feedback on their treatment experience. The platform displays information on all treatment providers for any substance use disorder in a state, including opioid use disorder, with greater than half voluntarily providing information on the services and practices they offer.
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NJHMFA and Project Freedom Celebrate
Freedom Village at Town Center South Grand Opening
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ROBBINSVILLE – Mayor Dave Fried, New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA) Executive Director Melanie R. Walter, and Project Freedom Inc. representatives, joined by state and local officials, celebrated the grand opening of Freedom Village at Town Center South, a new accessible and independent living community serving persons with disabilities and mobility impairments.
Project Freedom Inc. (PFI) opened the first Project Freedom neighborhood in Robbinsville in 1991. This project is located on Hutchinson Road in Robbinsville Township and has 30 accessible units. All the tenants in this community are people who have a disability.
Today, Project Freedom proudly opens its 2nd Robbinsville community which is called Freedom Village at Town Center South. This new community is conveniently located in Robbinsville’s Town Center area and has 72 units of affordable and accessible apartments. This new Project Freedom neighborhood is fully integrated and welcomes tenants who have disabilities and tenants who do not have disabilities.
All units are affordable to persons making less than 50% of the area median income. 10 units are set aside for individuals who are developmentally disabled through the Division of Developmental Disabilities and 8 units to individuals who are referred by the Division of Mental Health.
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Foothold Technology Webinar
Looking Back and Moving Forward
with Virtual Service Delivery
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Wednesday, June 23, 2021 | 2:00 - 3:00 PM ET
With behavioral health needs increasing, many providers have adapted their service models to offer virtual services. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed a rapid increase in this approach to care.
As agencies have begun to re-open, it has become clear that many of these virtual services will continue along with place-based services. So, what does this mean for providers? Join Foothold’s senior advisor, David Bucciferro, to learn how your agency can adapt to the future of virtual service delivery and use technology to optimize the care you provide your community.
What You'll Learn
- How virtual service delivery has developed and its impact on behavioral healthcare
- Strategies for sustainably utilizing technology to improve service delivery and optimize time with clinicians
- Approaches to addressing challenges that come with providing services in a virtual environment
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New Jersey Partners in Policymaking Applications Open
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New Jersey Partners in Policymaking is a leadership development and advocacy education program for adults with developmental disabilities (over age 21) and family members of young children and transition age youth available through collaboration between The New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities, The Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities, and Disability Rights New Jersey. The goal of this program is to prepare the next generation of disability advocates to work toward meaningful change in our state.
Applications must be received by June 25, 2021.
Applicants will be notified of acceptance by July 30, 2021.
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Take Time to Focus and Renew
with Friend of SHA Erika Murphy
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SHA's community will likely remember the wonderful energy and support provided by our friend, Erika Murphy, M.Div., Ph.D., as she was part of the team who helped grow SHA through our early days, including our early web presence. Now Erika offers a range of opportunities that can help us center ourselves as we prepare for the world post-pandemic. You can view her website here and read through a brief biography below as you consider adding tools to cultivate peace in your life.
Erika offers workshops, classes, and retreats on meditation and mindful movement. She also has a background in theology and philosophy, and teaches undergraduate courses in Fairfield, Connecticut. Her work in theology and spirituality has led her to explore the world of the mind-body connection through meditation, mantra, and other classic practices that build awareness and attention. Erika has practiced meditation for over ten years and has studied the traditions of Vipassana, Zen, yoga, and Buddhism. Erika is also a certified mindfulness teacher, which allows her to offer practical stress-reduction techniques that help individuals cultivate more peace and joy in their lives.
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Resources & Virtual Forums
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NJHMFA Homebuyers Webinar: The Road Home
Somerset and Union Counties
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Looking to Buy Your First Home?
The Road Home New Jersey webinar series provides a roadmap for homebuyers in New Jersey to learn and ask questions about the home purchase process as well as available programs in the state and featured municipality. Join a panel of industry professionals who will discuss:
$10,000 Down Payment Assistance Program for First-time Homebuyers
Credit Impact and how to access your report | Mortgage Lending Guidance
Current Market Trends | Housing Counseling
Importance of Hiring a Realtor | Importance of Using an Attorney
Registration is required for these virtual events.
Visit our website for more upcoming webinar dates at njhousing.gov
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Somerset County
Jun 15, 2021 07:00 PM
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Union County
Jun 17, 2021 07:00 PM
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Employers Association of New Jersey Free Webinar
The Post-Pandemic Workplace:
Legal Considerations for Employers
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June 21, 2021 | 10:00 - 11:00 AM ET
While COVID-19 may not be entirely in the rear-view mirror, we can now reasonably say that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Schools are scheduled for full-time, in-person instruction Both employers and employees want to return to normal, but “normalcy” cannot be achieved with a flip of the switch. Health, safety and worker protection laws enacted during the pandemic have permanently altered the workplace and unvaccinated workers may block attempts to achieve optimal business results.
John Sarno, Esq., President of the Employers Association of New Jersey (EANJ) will present this webinar, which will cover the following topics:
- Updated Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- The Status of New Jersey’s Public Health Emergency Orders
- The Status of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act of 2020 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
- Whistleblowing
- Promoting the Vaccine
- Americans with Disabilities Act - Reasonable Accommodations
Our thanks to NJAMHAA for sharing this webinar resource
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Innovative Partnerships for Affordable Housing:
Working Together to Respond, Stabilize and Recover
A Conversation with HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge
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Monday, June 21, 2021 | 3:00 - 4:00 PM ET
Join Enterprise Community Partners President/CEO Priscilla Almodovar and Solutions Division President Jacqueline Waggoner for a conversation with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. Fudge, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and other local leaders. They will discuss the impact of Covid-19 on housing affordability and highlight efforts to respond to the crisis, stabilize households and ensure the long-term equitable recovery of our communities.
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Expanding Your Workforce:
Webinar on Hiring People with Disabilities
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June 22, 2021 | 1:00 - 2:30 PM ET
Join the New Jersey Business & Industry Association in collaboration with many statewide partners for a webinar to discuss the benefits and process of hiring individuals with disabilities and how they will help your company thrive.
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National Council for Mental Wellbeing Webinar
Pride Month: Clinical Practices and
Policies for the LGBTQ+ Community
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Friday, June 25, 2021 | 2:30-3:30PM ET
In celebrating Pride Month, National Council and our partners will be sharing the most up-to-date information on clinical practices and policies for the LGBTQ+ community! Learn how COVID-19 has impacted LGBTQ+ persons’ mental health and substance use conditions from organizations that are increasing access to mental health and substance use care for LGBTQ+ individuals and informing the public on ways to strengthen care through policy.
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There are many great ways of supporting SHA: Join as a member, send donations, or shop with AmazonSmile. Thank you for your support!
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Want all the member benefits with SHA? Visit our website or contact Joseph Christensen to apply or manage your membership.
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Members can post jobs to find applicants within the wider supportive housing community. Click on the button to visit our job page.
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Diane Riley, Executive Director
Joseph Christensen, Membership & Communication Manager
Kate Kelly, MSW – Integrated Community Project Manager
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Advocate ● Educate ● Support
The Supportive Housing Association of New Jersey unites its diverse coalition of members engaging development, resources, and information to sustain supportive housing systems within New Jersey. Since 1998, our statewide mission seeks to enhance lives and accessibility to enable independent living within our communities.
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Supportive Housing Association of New Jersey
185 Valley Street, South Orange, NJ 07079
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