‘One step in a long journey’

Burlington County is preparing to start construction on the county’s first emergency shelter in Westampton, construction that’s expected to take approximately 16 to 20 months.

The 60-bed shelter will be a stand-alone, two-story, 33,792-square-foot building immediately behind the existing human services building, on the same campus as the board of social services, the county housing hub and other agencies. It will serve adult men and women experiencing emergent housing crises and provide them with accommodations, warm meals, showers, laundry facilities and bathrooms.

Office/program spaces will include a welcome center, medical triage room, interview rooms, a media center, a lounge/common room, a quiet space, a lecture room, a security station and a monitoring room. The first floor will have private showers for intake, public restrooms, private restrooms for staff and meeting space/service rooms. The second floor will feature men’s and women’s dormitories with private showers and two private restrooms with showers and laundry rooms. There will also be a full-service kitchen.

Individuals will be assessed on entry and paired with a case manager who will guide them through the services and programs needed to help them move into transitional or permanent housing. The 2024 Point in Time Count from Monarch Housing – which seeks to count the number of people living homeless in all New Jersey counties during a single day – provides a snapshot of the need that exists in the county. It revealed that 1,005 individuals were homeless in Burlington County on Jan. 24 of last year, the day of the count, including 11 who were unsheltered.

Sixty-three percent of those counted were either Black, Hispanic or Latino – a significant disparity given that those minorities make up only about 26% of the county’s total population – 37% reported having at least one disability, 11% reported being victims of domestic violence and 29% had been homeless for a year or longer.

“The Burlington County Emergency Shelter will provide those in need with a clean, safe refuge and a clear path to services that can assist them,” said county Commissioner Director Felicia Hopson at a groundbreaking ceremony for the shelter held by the county on Oct. 30. “This is something that Burlington County has desperately needed for decades,” she added. “In fact, at this very moment, we are the only New Jersey county of similar size without one. But not for long.”

The building will have its own 24-hour security and based on operations of similar facilities, is not expected to have an impact on local police, fire or emergency services. As an emergency shelter, it may be used by the Office of Emergency Management and the American Red Cross if sheltering is required during a disaster impacting the county or region.

The new shelter is the result of several years of planning and discussions led by Hopson, who has championed such a facility since first taking office in 2019. She worked with her fellow commissioners, County Administrator Eve Cullinan, Burlington County Department of Human Services Director Shirla Simpson, Department of Human Services Deputy Director Malikah Morris, Burlington County Engineer Joseph Brickley, Director of the Burlington County Construction Management and Specialist Steven Stypinski, expert consultant Julia Orlando and architects from Netta Architects to develop the plans.

“This facility has an opportunity to help those of us who may have fallen but are willing to get up and move forward again,” noted state Sen. Troy Singleton. “It is not always popular to advocate on behalf of those who are voiceless. It’s not always popular to advocate for those who society would like to shun and turn its back on …

“ … I say this with the utmost respect,” he added. “I sleep better at night knowing the leadership of this board believes that we have that obligation. That we have that commitment to one another, to ensure that it is possible that someone can never have their worst day be reflected with who they are. That they have an opportunity to pick themselves up and move forward.”

The county’s application to build and license the shelter was approved by the state Comptroller’s Office and the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs earlier this summer, and the county commissioners approved awarding a $18.3-million construction contract and $617,000 in construction management contracts last month to Deandrea Construction Co. and M&M Construction Inc., respectively. Their contracts require hiring union labor.

The county has received multiple grants in support of the shelter project, including a $3-million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development secured through a congressional earmark requested by Congressman Andy Kim and Sen. Cory Booker. Close to $600,000 in HUD funding for the project was also obtained through the county’s Community Development Block Grant.

An additional $2.83 million for the project was awarded by a special legislative grant championed by Singleton as part of the 2024 state budget. The rest of the construction costs were included in the county’s capital plan and funding was approved by capital ordinance. Operating costs will be funded through the Homelessness Trust, established in 2019 and funded through recording fees collected by the county clerk’s office.

“I hope that in our country, with everything going on and all the divisiveness out there, I hope we can all agree that in the richest, most powerful country in the world, we should be able to put a roof over someone’s head in their time of great need,” Kim said.

“Today’s groundbreaking is a culmination of incredible planning and leadership in Burlington County to address a long-overdue-community need,” he added. “The first of its kind in Burlington, this shelter will not just look after people’s safety, but also help set them up for healthy and secure lives after they leave.”