THE FIRST PERSON has been housed under the Newark 50 Project, an initiative that seeks to house the 50 most vulnerable homeless individuals in New Jersey's largest city.
A woman who had been sleeping in Penn Station was given her own bed and home for the first time in five years, announced Newark Mayor Cory Booker in July.
“That's one step in a journey,” he said. “... I'm excited about the full 50 steps, and then I'm excited about doing the 50 again and again and again.
We started out with audacity to end homelessness in 10 years.
Today, I think we're showing that this is not just a distant dream. This is a destiny."
On any given night, there are more than 700 homeless residents in the shelters, abandoned buildings, parks, and on the streets in Newark.
The goal is to place the first 50 in permanent supportive housing by December 2012.
The effort is part of Community Solutions' 100,000 Homes Campaign to find and house 100,000 of the most long-term and vulnerable homeless individuals and families across the country by July 2013.
Community Solutions is a new national nonprofit led by Rosanne Haggerty, who is the founder of Common Ground, a New York Citybased homeless housing and services organization.
