NJ DCA Confirms CSPNJ Has Touched Over 12,000 Lives Through Homelessness Services and Outreach Efforts in the Past Year
According to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey's homeless services and outreach efforts have touched over 12,000 lives in the past year alone. Additionally, CSPNJ successfully sheltered New Jerseyans during a season with one of the most and longest consecutive Code Blue Alerts in New Jersey history. CSPNJ sheltered over 1,200 NJ residents during the 2024-2025 Code Blue season through operation of three warming centers.
Freehold, NJ, June 13, 2025 --(PR.com)-- According to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey's homeless services and outreach efforts have touched over 12,000 lives in the past year alone.
“Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey truly is one of the most impactful organizations in the state in resolving homelessness. Just last year alone, through funding provided by DCA and other partners, CSPNJ’s teams served over 12,000 people at risk of homelessness or experiencing homelessness,” said DCA Office of Homelessness Prevention Director Michael Callahan. “From Code Blue emergency warming centers in Jersey City, to encampment resolution teams in Ocean County, to homelessness diversion programs in Salem County, CSPNJ’s peer-led teams leverage compassionate engagement principles with quick and decisive housing action to rapidly resolve crises.”
Additionally, CSPNJ successfully sheltered New Jerseyans during a season with one of the most and longest consecutive Code Blue Alerts in New Jersey history. CSPNJ sheltered over 1,200 NJ residents during the 2024-2025 Code Blue season through operation of three warming centers; having those warming centers was a supporting factor to CSPNJ’s total lives touched. CSPNJ has operated a warming center in Kearny in Hudson County for 4 years and expanded warming center operations this season in Barrington in Camden County and Toms River in Ocean County. Typically warming centers provide a place to sleep from November 15 to March 31; at CSPNJ warming centers, individuals who are experiencing homelessness can also receive assistance with basic living needs such as food, clothing, transportation, case management, and linkages to community resources. Warming centers are just one way communities advocate for the decriminalization of homelessness.
“As part of our continued growth and success in serving our community, we greatly value our partnerships with Camden, Hudson, and Ocean Counties; municipalities that are dedicated to providing critical warming center services to residents,” stated Victor Luna, CSPNJ CEO. “Our warming center operations are one of the many ways CSPNJ demonstrates its commitment to fostering collaboration, efficiency, and innovation across all areas of our organization.” Peer-led warming centers are part of CSPNJ’s holistic approach, creating safe spaces for unhoused individuals during extreme weather conditions. These centers provide not only physical safety but also access to peer support, further preventing criminalization and institutionalization.
Every January, CSPNJ participates in NJCounts, the annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Count of individuals and families experiencing homelessness in the state which is led by Monarch Housing Associates. It is likely that there are more people experiencing homelessness than are found through these PIT counts, however, to put the number of CSPNJ’s warming center guests into perspective:
• 2024 PIT data for Hudson County found a total of 1,168 persons were experiencing homelessness; CSPNJ’s Kearny warming center provided shelter to over 830 unduplicated individuals experiencing homelessness from November 2024 through March 2025. The highest number of admissions at this center on one night was 215 individuals.
• 2024 PIT data for Camden County found a total of 743 persons were experiencing homelessness; CSPNJ’s Barrington warming center provided shelter to 110 unduplicated individuals experiencing homelessness from February through March 2025
• 2024 PIT data for Ocean County found a total of 556 persons were experiencing homelessness; CSPNJ’s Toms River warming center provided shelter to 300 unduplicated individuals experiencing homelessness from November 2024 through March 2025
If you know of someone experiencing homelessness or who is at risk of being homeless, call NJ211, contact your local Board of Social Services, or reach out to a CSPNJ Community Wellness Center and meet with the Resource Specialist. For more information about CSPNJ please contact Chelsea Triano at ctriano@cspnj.org or 732-443-0680.
About Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey (CSPNJ)
A statewide behavioral health agency incorporated in 1984, CSPNJ has established itself as a respected innovator of housing, Community Wellness Centers, employment, and economic development services that promote the wellness and recovery of people with the lived experience of behavioral health conditions. Starting with just three drop-in centers to what is now a statewide network of programs, CSPNJ is a nationally recognized leader in the design and delivery of wellness and recovery-oriented services, offering opportunities for people to live, learn, and work in the community of their choice. CSPNJ is celebrating its 40th year of operations in 2025, having provided supportive housing and community wellness centers for decades, respite and homelessness services for over 10 years, and outreach services for the past 5 years. CSPNJ is a HUD-approved Public Housing Agency that provides mainstream and CoC housing vouchers for over 20 years. For more information about CSPNJ, visit www.cspnj.org.
“Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey truly is one of the most impactful organizations in the state in resolving homelessness. Just last year alone, through funding provided by DCA and other partners, CSPNJ’s teams served over 12,000 people at risk of homelessness or experiencing homelessness,” said DCA Office of Homelessness Prevention Director Michael Callahan. “From Code Blue emergency warming centers in Jersey City, to encampment resolution teams in Ocean County, to homelessness diversion programs in Salem County, CSPNJ’s peer-led teams leverage compassionate engagement principles with quick and decisive housing action to rapidly resolve crises.”
Additionally, CSPNJ successfully sheltered New Jerseyans during a season with one of the most and longest consecutive Code Blue Alerts in New Jersey history. CSPNJ sheltered over 1,200 NJ residents during the 2024-2025 Code Blue season through operation of three warming centers; having those warming centers was a supporting factor to CSPNJ’s total lives touched. CSPNJ has operated a warming center in Kearny in Hudson County for 4 years and expanded warming center operations this season in Barrington in Camden County and Toms River in Ocean County. Typically warming centers provide a place to sleep from November 15 to March 31; at CSPNJ warming centers, individuals who are experiencing homelessness can also receive assistance with basic living needs such as food, clothing, transportation, case management, and linkages to community resources. Warming centers are just one way communities advocate for the decriminalization of homelessness.
“As part of our continued growth and success in serving our community, we greatly value our partnerships with Camden, Hudson, and Ocean Counties; municipalities that are dedicated to providing critical warming center services to residents,” stated Victor Luna, CSPNJ CEO. “Our warming center operations are one of the many ways CSPNJ demonstrates its commitment to fostering collaboration, efficiency, and innovation across all areas of our organization.” Peer-led warming centers are part of CSPNJ’s holistic approach, creating safe spaces for unhoused individuals during extreme weather conditions. These centers provide not only physical safety but also access to peer support, further preventing criminalization and institutionalization.
Every January, CSPNJ participates in NJCounts, the annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Count of individuals and families experiencing homelessness in the state which is led by Monarch Housing Associates. It is likely that there are more people experiencing homelessness than are found through these PIT counts, however, to put the number of CSPNJ’s warming center guests into perspective:
• 2024 PIT data for Hudson County found a total of 1,168 persons were experiencing homelessness; CSPNJ’s Kearny warming center provided shelter to over 830 unduplicated individuals experiencing homelessness from November 2024 through March 2025. The highest number of admissions at this center on one night was 215 individuals.
• 2024 PIT data for Camden County found a total of 743 persons were experiencing homelessness; CSPNJ’s Barrington warming center provided shelter to 110 unduplicated individuals experiencing homelessness from February through March 2025
• 2024 PIT data for Ocean County found a total of 556 persons were experiencing homelessness; CSPNJ’s Toms River warming center provided shelter to 300 unduplicated individuals experiencing homelessness from November 2024 through March 2025
If you know of someone experiencing homelessness or who is at risk of being homeless, call NJ211, contact your local Board of Social Services, or reach out to a CSPNJ Community Wellness Center and meet with the Resource Specialist. For more information about CSPNJ please contact Chelsea Triano at ctriano@cspnj.org or 732-443-0680.
About Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey (CSPNJ)
A statewide behavioral health agency incorporated in 1984, CSPNJ has established itself as a respected innovator of housing, Community Wellness Centers, employment, and economic development services that promote the wellness and recovery of people with the lived experience of behavioral health conditions. Starting with just three drop-in centers to what is now a statewide network of programs, CSPNJ is a nationally recognized leader in the design and delivery of wellness and recovery-oriented services, offering opportunities for people to live, learn, and work in the community of their choice. CSPNJ is celebrating its 40th year of operations in 2025, having provided supportive housing and community wellness centers for decades, respite and homelessness services for over 10 years, and outreach services for the past 5 years. CSPNJ is a HUD-approved Public Housing Agency that provides mainstream and CoC housing vouchers for over 20 years. For more information about CSPNJ, visit www.cspnj.org.
Contact
Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey
Chelsea Triano
732-780-1175
https://cspnj.org
Chelsea Triano
732-780-1175
https://cspnj.org
Contact
Categories