The Cumberland County Housing First Collaborative

Ending Homelessness by 2020

The Cumberland County Housing First Collaborative is a unique consortium of social service organizations, faith-based institutions, and government officials committed to tackling the problem of chronic homelessness in Cumberland County.  The guiding agency of this collaborative is the M25 Initiative, a nonprofit organization based in Bridgeton, which also facilitates the grassroots Cumberland County Code Blue Coalition.  The other partners of the collaborative include Gateway Community Action Partnership, PRAC of Southern New Jersey, Resources for Independent Living, and CompleteCare.  The collaborative is operating in partnership with the Cumberland County Jail, Inspira Health Network, Monarch Housing, and the Family Strengthening Network.

With the support of New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, the Collaborative is launching a historic movement to end chronic homelessness in Cumberland County by 2020. Utilizing 42 housing vouchers provided by the State and coupling it with other resources, we are implementing a comprehensive strategy to find homeless individuals permanent housing. Housing will be coupled with wrap-around services to keep them off the street and pointed toward fulfilling and productive lives.

The Housing First Philosophy includes low barrier program admission criteria with no preconditions of treatment completion, sobriety and/or abstinence, clean criminal or credit history, and income. The Housing First Collaborative will seek to serve the hardest to serve the population that may have multiple barriers to obtaining and maintaining housing.

Eligibility

Individuals eligible for the program are identified by Inspira Health Systems, Cumberland County Jail, Resources for Independent Living, and Gateway Community Action Partnership. Eligibility requirements include a diagnosable substance abuse disorder and/or serious mental illness and/or development disability and/or chronic physical illness or disability, along with a demonstrated period of homelessness for at least 12 continuous months or 12 cumulative months during at least 4 separate occasions in the last three years. Individuals may not exceed annual income of $15,075, monthly income of $1,256, and/or hourly income of $7.25 (125% of federal poverty income guidelines).
Referral Site Location Information:
Main Site- Gateway Community Action Partnership
110 Cohansey Street
Bridgeton, NJ 08302
(856) 451-6330

Secondary Site- Resources for Independent Living
614 E. Landis Ave
1st Floor
Vineland, NJ 08360
(856) 825-0255

The Housing First Collaborative: