Outreach teams in Newark are keeping unhoused residents and others safe during a prolonged Code Blue, marked by single-digit temperatures, dangerous wind chills and the icy remnants of a major snowstorm – with a second wallop potentially on the way.
Richard Uniacke, president of Bridges Outreach, says the 24-hour homeless services group is seeing demand well above the typical 100 people per day. In one case, his team assisted people in an unheated stairwell who had signs of frostbite and hypothermia.
Others, like 29-year-old Eric Melbin, were on the streets of New Jersey’s most populous city. Bridges arranged a weeklong stay at the YMCA for him.
“I was sleeping in my sleeping bag, and it was 8 degrees at a playground near Ironbound Park,” Melbin said.
Most in a decade
New Jersey homelessness a year ago hit highest in more than a decade, with 13,748 people identified in the federally mandated annual Point-in-Time count.
The forecast this week included subfreezing temperatures and potential snow this weekend, atop the more than 12 inches that fell in Newark on Sunday and Monday.
Code Blue activates warming centers, emergency shelter beds and expanded outreach.
The city Office of Homeless Services is also seeing demand rise rapidly. Director Luis Ulerio said his team is connecting clients to mobile medical teams, social workers and outreach staff. A recent call from a concerned resident helped save a life, Ulerio said.
“There was a senior staying in his car in the parking lot of a church,” he explained. “We approached and said, ‘We are here to help,’ and he said, ‘Let me grab my bags and be on my way with you.’”
A text to help
Ulerio says more people are arriving from beyond the city.
“I suspect the homeless systems in their areas are not sufficient to respond to their needs,” he said. “We had a family from Ohio. They’re coming from all over.”
Officials urge anyone in need, or who is concerned about someone outside, to text PATH HOME to 855-11. Messages go directly to street outreach teams.
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