Today, August 8th, a young couple who live near the corner of 4th and Willow asked me if anything could be done about homelessness. As I love to be put on the spot, I gave my best answer and I’ll repeat it here (with a little bit of tidying up).
Someone who is homeless needs help. Removing benches (https://patch.com/new-jersey/hoboken/bring-back-our-benches-says-disabled-hoboken-resident-after-city-removes-several), denying a homeless person access to bathrooms or coming up with a program to relocate homeless people to a different community (https://www.nyc.gov/site/hra/help/sota.page): only makes lives harder or transfers the responsibility of care to another community or region.
That said, Hoboken is a great place to panhandle and panhandling tends to attract people who are looking for cash for things that aren’t necessarily good (and panhandlers often are NOT homeless). A portion of those who panhandle are doing so because they aren’t behaving in a manner suitable to stay in the shelter, halfway house, with family/friends or in an apartment. I believe it’s that portion which is the most problematic for the behavior we’re trying to solve in Hoboken.
– Reduce panhandling. Panhandlers are allowed to panhandle (first amendment), but at a minimum panhandling should be discouraged through outreach to residents beyond the few advertisements shown on PATH trains. It may be possible to ticket those who give money to people panhandling under certain circumstances. Either way, donations to shelters and churches who help the homeless should be encouraged as an alternative (an extension of the parking meters that were repurposed).
– Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC): I would like for our social workers (Hoboken has two full time working for the city) to attempt to get approval from the state for as many able bodied homeless residents and walk local businesses through the paperwork involved. WOTC gives a $2400 tax credit (more for veterans) to businesses hiring someone who is eligible. Many of our homeless would be eligible, but the paperwork isn’t easy for a small, local business and few homeless are qualified to work for a large company that has the resources to apply. Local businesses are struggling to find personnel, so this would be a win-win-win (person/business/community).
– Secure Belongings Storage: Many homeless are unable to stay in the shelter due to behavior, or lack of space. A location where they can store their belongings safely would reduce their struggle and possibly put them on a better track.
We already have some programs for getting identification, computer skills and other job skills which occur at the library and other locations in the city, but I’m unaware of any partnerships with local businesses or potentially internships which seem to be the next step. I would rather not have an impact on our budget, so I would look into some type of non-profit to help fund those internships, ideally to make it so the local business pays a portion, WOTC pays a portion and the non-profit a portion to gainfully employ a person.