Newark is trying to address the homelessness problem in and around Penn Station. The city, the Newark Alliance, N-J Transit and other partners are starting a program aimed at getting homeless people there the help they need. Mayor Ras Baraka says it’s a different approach.
“Usually people are responding to homelessness with laws to lock people up,” he said. “They’re responding to homelessness by removing people’s tents and giving them a fine, a fine that doesn’t make sense because I don’t think homeless people probably can pay a fine.”
The program is called Gateway to Hope. It will put medical teams in and around Penn Station to address mental illness among the homeless, treat substance abuse, and get people into housing.
N-J Transit Police Chief Chris Trucillo said this has to be a team effort. “When trained professionals, nurses, social workers, outreach workers, can partner with law enforcement to intervene early and effectively it can make a real difference,” he said.
As for RWJ Barnabas Health CEO Mark Manigan, he invoked one of Baraka’s favorite quotes. “I told the mayor when I saw him I’m gonna steal one of his lines, he likes to reflect on the important words of Mahatma Gandhi that the true measure of any society is how it treats its most vulnerable and that’s what we’re doing today.”