Behind the Scenes
By KATE MELLINA
This is a column about the proposed homeless shelter that supporters
want to place in Asbury Park.
It is also a call for compassion the kind that seems to get
forgotten when people talk about Monmouth County's most overburdened
city.
As you've probably read, the leaders of Morristown's Market Street
Mission want to locate their 40-bed Jersey Shore Rescue Mission on
Memorial Drive. Twenty-seven of those beds would be devoted to
homeless men who could sleep there no more than 10 nights in a row.
Ten additional beds would be devoted to men who participate in the
gospel mission's six-to-12-month program, and three beds would be
reserved for staff.
By its own estimates, the mission would serve 962 men a year, in a
city that currently counts 20 to 25 chronic homeless people and some
number of transient homeless.
Local opponents point out that the shelter does not perform
background checks; that it does not accept women or families; that it
is not state-licensed to do drug or alcohol counseling; and that it
will not provide more than a sleeping and eating spot for the vast
majority of clients.
They warn that it will draw displaced men from around the state, who
will roam the city's streets by day with no responsibility by the
mission to provide social services, job training or counseling during
or after those 10-day stays.
In contrast, supporters argue that it is "morally wrong" for
residents to oppose the facility, and that "all men have the right to
food, clothing and shelter."
I essentially agree with the last part of that statement which is
why I find it so hard to understand why any compassionate person
would support placing the Jersey Shore Rescue Mission in Asbury Park.
Let's look at the facts:
Situated in a county that recently ranked 19th in the United States
in terms of household wealth, Asbury Park's median family income in
the 2000 census was an appalling $26,370. (And, yes, that means that
fully half of Asbury Park families made less than that amount.)
According to the NJ Department of Health and Senior Services
(NJDHSS), the 2000 poverty rate for Asbury Park children was 40.3
percent compared to 7.7 percent for Monmouth County and the
city's 2004 unemployment rate was more than twice that of the county.
The 2000 census found that a whopping 70 percent of Asbury Park
children live in one-parent families, a trend that is apparently
continuing: According to NJDHSS, 97 percent of Asbury Park births in
2003 were to unmarried mothers and 24 percent of those mothers were
still teenagers.
Less than 20 percent of Asbury Park residents owned their own homes
in 2000, and the NJ Department of Community Affairs reports that
Asbury Park ranks fifth highest in the state in percentage of
subsidized affordable housing with 19 percent (or one in five
units) in that category.
In a city (and county) facing an alarming rise in gang recruiting and
gun violence, Asbury Park already had the third lowest high school
completion rate and the third highest violent crime rate in the state
in 2004 ranking behind only Camden and Irvington.
Where does this leave our kids? In 2005, 27 percent of the admissions
to the Monmouth County Youth Detention Center came from Asbury Park
more than the next two highest towns combined and the city far
outranks other Monmouth County towns in the number of child neglect
and abuse cases.
The list goes on and on.
So how equipped is Asbury Park to deal logistically or
compassionately with the prospect of dozens (or hundreds) of
additional homeless men on its streets?
One of the startling things I learned as a councilwoman was that
Asbury Park cannot collect taxes on an amazing 30 percent of its
total property value because the land and buildings are either
municipally owned or in an unusually high number of cases owned
by non-profit organizations that are exempt from paying tax.
As a result and because of decades of neglect and the high volume
of social services it must offer Asbury Park had the highest tax
rate in Monmouth County last year, according to the Affordable
Housing Alliance, and the city is reportedly struggling with a $5
million budget shortfall this year.
Will the state or county come to its rescue? Not likely, and not
without a struggle despite the fact that New Jersey boasted the
highest median household income of any state or world nation in
2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
So should Asbury Park be forced to shoulder yet one more burden, when
it is so ill-equipped to provide the basic necessities for its
current population?
The wealthy "not in my back yard" crowd are probably hoping so.
But I fail to see how any compassionate person could expect the city
to welcome a facility that would draw hundreds of needy men from
around the state and then fail to provide for them in a meaningful,
long-term way.
Are you (rightfully) concerned about the homeless problem in Monmouth
County or Asbury Park? Then visit the next county Freeholder's
meeting. The county's current homeless facility at Fort Monmouth has
only 31 beds, and I understand that the number may decrease when the
fort closes.
And, because the county shelter is located on federal property, the
neediest people are often excluded because they can't pass a criminal
background check. Surely, wealthy Monmouth County could do more
much more for the homeless and Asbury Park.
Want to help Asbury Park's most needy residents? Support successful
programs like Epiphany House that provides long-term support to get
impoverished and recovering families back on their feet, or
Interfaith Neighbors that builds beautiful, affordable homes for the
working poor.
Start or expand a mentoring or tutoring program for Asbury Park's
beleaguered children to keep them in school, on track, and out of
gangs particularly with summer fast approaching.
Support Asbury Park's substantial (and often impoverished) senior
population in obtaining a long-promised Senior Center and activities
that compare with surrounding towns. (And, yes, I'll be tackling the
Senior Center issue in an up-coming column.)
And stop making it a point of honor to drive a wedge between poor,
longtime residents and the new wealthier ones whose skills and
resources could ultimately spell the difference between the city we
know and the city we'd all like to see.
Asbury Park has enough social challenges to strain the limits of
anyone's compassion. The Jersey Shore Rescue Mission will only
compound that burden while failing to serve the local homeless in a
meaningful way.
It's time to offer Asbury Park some true compassion.
Kate Mellina's column appears on the Internet at asburypark.net.
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