new jersey's homeless population is

growing but

two communities in our state have come

up with

innovative housing solutions to help

those residents

newark recently began sheltering

homeless people

in converted shipping containers and now

bridgeton is moving forward with a plan

to build

tiny homes as melissa rose cooper

reports tonight for our

ongoing series chasing the dream which

focuses on

poverty justice and economic

opportunities

these new alternatives to traditional

homeless shelters

are helping residents get back on their

feet

number one thing is security from the

elements

the goal is i want them to be proud that

they're making

steps every day to a permanency

bridgeton mayor albert kelly discussing

his hope

once this vacant lot is transformed into

a brand new complex

aimed at improving the lives of the

city's most vulnerable

we have received approval from

richardson city council

and the local planning board to build a

tiny home village

here in the city of bristol it's going

to be named gateway

tiny home village in which we're going

to house

the chronic homeless here in our

community

the project is an initiative of gateway

communication action partnership

which the mayor also heads the economy

has not been kind to a lot of

individuals and a lot of families but

we've we've found that

most of the people if not all of the

people

we're going to be talking to have

mental health and substance abuse

problems

so we need to work with those

individuals so that they're no longer

sleeping in plain sight the plan is to

place six 100 square foot units on this

lot

that will include fold-up beds shelving

and electricity

as well as climate-controlled heat and

air conditioning systems

separate units will house bathroom and

kitchen facilities in the center

area we may be able to put three

large tables just in case we still wind

up with the social distancing thing

nice umbrellas benches and we'll have

social service

come in maybe for one or two hours a day

so they can get their driver's license

they can get their social security cards

it's the things that are holding them up

from moving forward into getting into

permanent housing

similar projects in the state already

seeing the positive benefits

in march newark opened this housing

facility for the homeless

known as hope village the site provides

shelter for up to 24 people using

shipping containers

that have been converted into cold

compliant living spaces complete with

beds

storage and private showers we've been

able to get

more than eight individuals employment

we've gotten people

three people intensive outpatient

substance abuse

we've gotten five individuals enrolled

into mental health services

and there are about 16 individuals that

are in the process of transitioning

into their own apartments i think it's

tremendous idea what

bridgeton is doing and what the city of

newark has done previously

is looking at a model that's been used

in seattle

los angeles according to a report from

the u.s department of housing and urban

development

there were over 9 600 people considered

to be homeless in new jersey in 2020.

that number of 9 from the year before

where there were

about 8 800. advocates say the state

could benefit from more housing

initiatives to get people off the

streets

this is giving them a place to be able

to go to be able to

get all the attention that they need to

address their problems whether it's

drug addiction help them prepare to get

employed

help them prepare to be able to get a

home as of right now construction is

expected to start in september with the

goal to give residents keys to their

brand new homes

before the cold weather comes we need

something year-round in which we can

house the homeless but most importantly

work with them through our social

services

through our local health clinics

so that we can transition them from

these

units to permanent houses and make them

a productive member of our society

and i want them to be proud of

themselves a sense of pride officials

say they can't wait to see

for nj spotlight news i'm melissa rose

cooper

major funding for chasing the dream is

provided by

the jpb foundation with additional

funding from the peter g

peterson and joan ganz cooney fund