Published: May 21, 2012
By Krystal Odell and Gail Levinson

There are few things more important than having a place to call home. A home is one of those high-on-the-list items that people need in order to survive and even thrive.

A home doesn’t have to be huge or fancy, but it should be safe and near to people, commerce and transportation. It should be a place that one can live in for years if one wishes — a permanent location to hang one’s hat and become part of a community.

Most people can’t imagine not having a home, yet thousands in New Jersey are homeless or living in substandard homes or living with families well into their adult years because there is no other place for them to go that they can afford. These individuals are costly to New Jersey because they tend to overuse emergency rooms and other acute-care settings simply because homelessness or near homelessness breeds poor health and incapacity.

In New Jersey there are also thousands of abandoned properties, many in foreclosure that are sitting in disrepair, blighting neighborhoods and posing a general threat to the stability of neighborhoods.

State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, D-Union, has introduced legislation, S1566, that would solve a great problem. It would rehabilitate 10,000 abandoned New Jersey properties into affordable and market-rate homes using dollars from state and municipal trust funds that are required to be spent on affordable homes. The families or individuals with access to these newly renovated properties would pay rent or obtain a mortgage at an affordable rate.

The bill is supported by, among other statewide organizations, the New Jersey Bankers Association, the New Jersey Realtors Association, the New Jersey Builders Association, the New Jersey League of Municipalities and the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey.

Critics have taken the low road complaining that they don’t want to live near people whose lives are challenged by disabilities, including our veterans. There really isn’t much that can be said to appease these people. If they were to imagine themselves or their loved ones in similar situations, perhaps they would be more understanding.

The Supportive Housing Association of New Jersey urges New Jersey’s legislators to show their support by co-sponsoring the bill in the Senate with an identical measure in the Assembly.

Please, speak out on behalf of your constituents to advance this important measure which offers an innovative way of strengthening neighborhoods while providing homes to people in need who are on fixed incomes and who may also live with disabilities. We all gain from this proposed law.

Krystal Odell is chairwoman of the board of trustees of the Union County-based Supportive Housing Association of New Jersey. Gail Levinson is executive director of the organization.