Representatives from 10 Camden County service agencies provided information about services available to the homeless during the Homeless Services and Resource Fair on Jan. 28 at the Cathedral Kitchen in Camden.
The cold, harsh winter so far this season – full of snow and ice – has made life difficult as people struggle to shovel their sidewalks, dig out their cars and pay their heating bills.
The struggle is even harder for those in the homeless community. Even in sub-freezing temperatures, a few of them can be seen braving the cold while begging for money between cars stopped in area traffic. At night, their main goal is to stay warm, either at a shelter or by bundling up at an outdoor encampment.
The reasons for homelessness are varied and they include financial difficulties, opiate and fentanyl addiction, alcoholism and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) among veterans who’ve faced the horrors of war. Some vets may also suffer from traumatic brain injuries and depression.
“Homelessness is primarily driven by a lack of affordable housing, deep poverty and, for many, a sudden financial crisis like job loss or medical emergency,” according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. “It is rarely caused by a single factor, but rather a combination of systemic issues such as high rent and stagnant wages and personal crises such as addiction, mental health and domestic violence.”
According to the 2025 figures from NJCounts, there are more than 750 homeless residents in Camden County. Thanks to the county commissioners, many of them were pampered and fed during the Homeless Services and Resource Fair on Jan. 28 at the Cathedral Kitchen in downtown Camden.
The homeless were able to take a hot shower, get a haircut and eat a healthy breakfast and lunch, and received information to help find a job, get medical care and take advantage of programs offered by service organizations.
“Access to essential services and support on their journey to stability can make a life-changing difference for our residents who are experiencing homelessness,” noted Commissioner Jennifer Cooley Fleisher, liaison to the Department of Health and Human Services.
“The board of commissioners are committed to ending homelessness in Camden County by 2030,” she added, “and resource fairs such as this (the Camden fair) help us move closer toward that reality.”
Fleisher added that the resource fair coincides with NJCounts, the annual Point-in-Time Count of individuals and families experiencing homelessness in New Jersey. As required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the national count takes place during the last 10 days of January and identifies people residing in emergency shelters, transitional housing, safe havens or other locations not fit for dwelling.
The county’s goal is to reach “functional zero” homelessness by 2030, when the number of homeless, sheltered or unsheltered, is no greater than the monthly housing placement rate. The county Office of Homeless Services has also created a six-point plan that utilizes programs and partnerships to combat and eliminate homelessness.
Representatives of 10 service organizations had tables at the resource fair with pamphlets and information about where to get help, including the county’s Board of Social Services, Office of Mental Health and Addiction, Division of Community Development, prosecutor’s office, South Jersey Legal Services, Volunteers of America, Senior Citizens United Community Services, the Center for Family Services, Cooper Center for Healing and the county Office of Economic Opportunity.
For immediate homeless assistance, residents can email info@nj221.org, call 2-1-1, or text their zip code to 898-211. For information about county programs, go to camdencounty.com and look for homelessness services.
