Homeless, hungry

One man slept sitting upright on a bench that was badly in need of a fresh coat of paint, a Covid-mask affixed to his face. Nearby, another man continually bumped a vending machine with his shoulder, possibly trying to nudge product or loose change to be dispensed.

About a half-dozen Rutgers University students sat nearby, waiting for weekend trains home. They were engrossed in their cell phones, appearing to be unaware – or ignoring – the societal tragedy that was playing out around them.

This was the mid-afternoon scene in the New Brunswick Train Station’s waiting room on a recent Friday. The two men were members of the city’s homeless population, a group whose plight periodically draws attention in the local media.

In Middlesex Borough, homelessness is not a problem for authorities to deal with continually. Police Chief Matt Geist said recently that during the past year, his department has had only one encounter with a homeless person that he can recall.

“It is not common to Middlesex,” Geist said of homelessness, “but it is something that happens from time to time. We’re prepared to offer services when needed.” Those services can include shelter access, and physical and mental health care.

Roughly 15 minutes away in the county seat, a much different story can be told as demonstrated by the daytime train station scene.

Most of New Jersey’s 21 counties saw an increase in their homeless populations from 2022 to 2023, according to Monarch Housing Associates, which organizes a statewide census. In Middlesex County, the New Brunswick-based organization Coming Home conducts a yearly Point In Time survey as part of the larger Garden State count.

The statewide count tallied 10,267 people homeless in New Jersey on Jan. 24, 2023. That was up 17% from the prior year. It’s doubtful, however, that every homeless person was accounted for in the survey.

Middlesex County’s homeless population rose more than 13% from 2022 to 2023. The count is taken each year in January, so the 2024 totals are not yet available.

On the night of Jan. 24, 2023, the Point in Time survey found that a total of 447 households, including 660 individuals, were homeless in Middlesex County. Of that total, 523 individuals were sheltered and 137 people were unsheltered. Twenty-two percent were victims of domestic violence, while 33% were “chronically homeless.”

The homeless tend to be more visible in the county’s cities such as New Brunswick and Perth Amboy. Often, the street homeless tend to be drawn to transit hubs such as train stations.

Train stations tend to be open 24/7, offer the ability to use a restroom and sit in an indoor place protected from the weather.

Of the county’s 447 homeless households counted in 2023, 90 were families, including 178 children.

Men comprised the majority of homeless adults at 54%, while women represented 45% of adults. Children comprised 27% of the total homeless population.

The 2023 Middlesex County homeless count was up about 13% from the prior year. On the night of Jan. 25, 2022, a total of 426 households, including 586 persons, were experiencing homelessness in the county, according to the Point In Time count. A total of 156 persons were identified as chronically homeless. 87 persons were unsheltered on the night of the count.

Homeless advocates say the lack of affordable housing, rent hikes and the end of an eviction moratorium that had been in place during the COVID-19 pandemic are factors in the increase

Geist said his department is mindful that food insecurity is also a prevailing social problem in the county. It’s an issue that can be more difficult to detect than homelessness.

“We just don’t know who they are,” Geist said of those who lack adequate food. “We don’t know whose refrigerator is empty as we go by.”

To help combat the problem, the Middlesex Police Department has conducted an annual food drive for years. In just the past two years combined, the drives have collected between 10,000 and 12,000 pounds of food and other essential household items. The annual drive supports Replenish, a county-run program that provides food to those in need.

“We don’t want our neighbors to starve,” said Geist. “We don’t want them to go hungry. We want to show them support.”

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