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Summit Community Leaders Tell Local Officials "Housing, Not Handcuffs" at Rally 4/23/2025 Community leaders and advocates rallied outside Summit City Hall last night to stand against an ordinance that would impose fines and possible jail sentences for sleeping in public places, specifically targeting the city’s population experiencing homelessness. Co-hosting the rally were Bridges Outreach, Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Monarch Housing Associates, Family Promise of Union County, Giving & Receiving Assistance for our Community’s Essentials (GRACE), NJ Coalition to End Homelessness, the Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless, Faith in New Jersey, ACLU-NJ, and the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey (the Network). “The Summit mayor and council are taking a surprisingly harmful approach to addressing homelessness,” said Matthew Hersh, vice president of policy and advocacy at the Network. “City leaders have made significant gains over the years working with shelter providers, advocates, and populations experiencing homelessness, only to be shattered by this reactionary ordinance that seeks to criminalize homelessness. Imposing fines and jailing unsheltered individuals is a costly mistake with real, human consequences, and the state should act immediately to prevent similar municipal ordinances from becoming law.” “The ordinance which the Common Council introduced on April 1st represents an approach which criminalizes homelessness,” said Richard Uniacke, president of Bridges Outreach, Inc. “We've accomplished a tremendous amount together so far and I'm holding out hope that they will vote down the ordinance as written and introduce a version which enables both public safety to be upheld and the work of the task force to continue meaningfully. We must recognize that complex, unmet needs – such as trauma, mental illness, and distrust of institutions – are not merely poor individual choices. Any policy should be grounded in the evidence of what works: persistent outreach, low-barrier housing, and trauma-informed care.” "Together we have been making incredible strides in Summit toward ending homelessness. And we have done it a blessedly non-partisan, trust-driven collaboration,” said Rev. Robin Tanner on behalf of the Summit Interfaith Council. “Voting no on this ordinance will reestablish trust and allow us to double-down on our shared goal-- ending homelessness in Summit. Passing this ordinance would be an erosion of trust and a hope-filled shared effort.” "All the research has shown that criminalizing homelessness is not the smart or humane way to address homelessness and that it costs more. It also only makes homelessness worse," said Connie Mercer, executive director for the NJ Coalition to End Homelessness. "Summit has been a leader in its outreach to unsheltered homelessness. We urge the Council to vote against this senseless and counterproductive ordinance. We know that the state, the Coalition, and our numerous community partners are eager to continue the work and come up with a better and smarter solution." “We are strongly opposed to ordinance #11871 which seeks to criminalize sleeping and resting in public places in Summit. We, like many others, want to see an end to homelessness but criminalization is not the way to achieve this goal,” said Taiisa Kelly, chief executive officer of Monarch Housing Associates. “Homelessness is not a choice but a failure of our systems to adequately address the needs of individuals and families in housing crisis. We cannot fix systemic failures by punishing individuals. It is only through investment in evidence-based solutions like housing first, trauma informed care, and low barrier services that we can begin to end homelessness, build safety, and help people reach their fullest potential.” “You can’t celebrate housing-first progress one month and criminalize unhoused people the next. That’s not leadership—it’s hypocrisy,” said Charlene D. Walker, executive director of Faith in New Jersey. “If the Council passes this ordinance, it will be a betrayal of the Mayor’s leadership, the Task Force’s progress, and the faith we place in our current compassionate governance. As someone who calls Summit both my spiritual home and place of work—and on behalf of Faith in New Jersey—I urge the Council to choose dignity over punishment and return to the proven path of care.” “The Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless has operated affordable housing in Summit for formerly homeless families for several years. The use of ‘Housing First’ methods to drastically reduce homelessness in the City has been a tremendous success story - which makes the proposed ordinances even more disappointing,” said Dan McGuire, chief executive officer of the Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless. “Targeting the handful of unhoused who remain in Summit is not only a cruel and misguided policy approach, but also one that appears legally fraught. If people are engaged in criminal activity, they should absolutely be held accountable, just like anyone else would. But criminalizing being so poor that you are living on the street? That is unproductive and cruel, and I don't believe that the majority of Summit residents support that direction or how it reflects on them and their town.” "Family Promise Union County serves families with children. One of the unintended consequences of this ordinance will be that single mother with children fleeing a dangerous situation, who can be defined as homeless, seeking some safety in a public parking lot or side street. Under what and whose discretion will this ordinance determine what will happen to this mother and children?” said Peter Jacob, executive director of Family Promise of Union County. “Will child protective services have to be called? Will they have to split up the family? Will they be fined, or face jail time? While this ordinance claims to be targeting 'bad actors,' then ordinances pertaining to bad actions should be considered. We all want to live in vibrant and safe communities. Based on the evidence, the language around criminalizing homelessness results in worse economic, health and safety outcomes for both unhoused and housed residents. We ask the Summit City Council to withdraw this ordinance and work with Summit Homeless Task Force.” According to a civic alert from the City of Summit, there were 25 Summit residents experiencing homelessness as of June 2024. As a result of the work of the Homeless Task Force’s partnership with nonprofit homelessness service providers, 20 of those residents “have already been placed in stable housing, received employment, or accessed rehabilitation services.” According to the latest data from Monarch Housing Associates, there were 1,026 people experiencing homelessness in Union County, where Summit is located – a 73.3% increase from the previous year’s count. Criminalization of homelessness has existed at the state level for centuries. Many anti-homeless laws are tied back to Victorian-era “vagrancy laws” and others to Jim Crow laws. With the 2024 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Johnson v. Grants Pass, municipalities are able to pass legislation that aims to punish people experiencing homelessness with arrest and fines at the expense of long-term housing solutions that address the underlying causes of homelessness. After a lengthy public comment period, the ordinance was held for a vote by the Summit Common Council until May 6. About the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ For more information: |
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