While Dramatic Rolebot Cory Booker Engages in Symbolic Politics Homelessness in NJ Reaches ‘Shocking’ 10 yr High: Black People Account for 47% of All Homeless but are Only 12% of the State Population

SENATOR BOOKER HAD A THEATRIC MELTDOWN ON THE SENATE FLOOR YESTERDAY. WHATEVER THIS CLOWN WAS WHNING ABOUT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE LIBERATION OF BLACK PEOPLE AND DID NOTHING TOWARD PROVIDING ANYTHING OF TANGIBLE VALUE TO BLACK PEOPLE AND THEIR COMMUNITIES.

The number of people who are homeless in New Jersey is the highest in over a decade, according to the state’s latest annual point-in-time count report, a sharp rise as state and federal aid and support programs are being slashed.

Over 13,700 people were homeless across the state on a single night in late January. That is an 8% increase in homelessness compared to last year, according to Monarch Housing Associates, a Cranford-based nonprofit that conducts the state’s annual point-in-time homeless count.

Black residents continue to experience homelessness at disproportionately higher rates than people of other racial or ethnic identities in the state, according to the report released Tuesday. Despite making up 12% of the state’s population, Black New Jerseyans represent 47.4% of the people who are homeless in the state.

Connie Mercer of the New Jersey Coalition to End Homelessness, a long-time housing advocate, said in a statement to NJ Spotlight News that the results from the new report are “shocking” but reflect what people working in the homeless services sector are seeing every day.

Every county participates in NJ Counts, the state’s annual count required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Social service providers, local governments, community advocates and volunteers work to identify people who are homeless on a single night in January every year, according to Monarch Housing Associates. [MORE]