HABcore, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation in Monmouth County, New Jersey, devoted to providing housing and supportive services in a family-like setting to low income persons and those who are homeless, disabled or unable to care for themselves. HABcore helps disenfranchised people develop lives of dignity and meaning.
Read our recent HABcourier newsletter Link to PDF
Behind the façade of Monmouth County's spacious homes and sprawling lawns lies a deep-rooted problem: the hidden homeless. Families do what they can, but many are struggling financially and emotionally. Odds are that you know the sister who is clinically depressed, the son who is a recovering alcoholic or the cousin who is simply down on his luck - in other words, people in desperate need of affordable supportive housing. An illness in the family, corporate downsizing, an eviction notice, a family argument - these are the types of events that can cast the most vulnerable family member out into the streets.
Anyone can call on HABcore when they are alone and have no place to go. Many who find their way to us receive much more than shelter. They acquire a home and a family. They regain self-respect. Life is once again filled with dignity and hope.
History
In 1988, several volunteers from Lunchbreak, a charitable organization dedicated to feeding the hungry in the greater Red Bank, NJ area, conducted a survey and found that a large percentage of the people they were feeding were living in substandard housing. These volunteers initiated a new organization whose purpose was to provide affordable housing in the same geographic area. Lunchbreak supported the new effort with a grant and loan, and in September 1988, HABcore, Inc. was incorporated. The first three letters of our name recall three homeless men, Bucky H., Charles A., and Slim B. who died on the streets of Red Bank in the early 1980’s.
Services
HABcore has extensive experience in providing permanent and transitional supportive housing to low-income single adults. We provide the building blocks: a clean, safe home, a permanent address, three square meals and laundry facilities. From there, we go beyond the traditional boarding house model by providing a home-like atmosphere with 24-hour supervision to cater to the needs of our population. Our supportive services include individually tailored development plans that allow residents to start a new life. We have a distinguished track record for expanding to meet the rising need for housing while continually improving supportive services to residents. Our success stories include people like Daphne, who graduated college and moved to Orlando to work for Disney and Carl, who started a greeting card business. With your help, we can continue to build on these successes.
In terms of physical growth, we have expanded from five residents to eighty-four since our inception. We currently manage two boarding houses and two independent, but supported “graduate” housing facilities. Though our Red Bank boarding home, The Coffey Residence, opened with a five bed availability, an expansion in 1993 allowed us to accommodate the twenty-one residents who now live there at below market rents. In 1992, a two-family home was purchased; this home provides housing for five people who live independently. In 1998, we more than doubled in size by acquiring The Laurel House, a boarding home in Asbury Park that accommodates twenty-eight people. In 2005, we began a new program to provide rental subsidies and case management services to twenty-two homeless people with disabilities in Monmouth County. In June of 2005, we acquired a new site in Keansburg to provide another seven units of affordable supportive housing. HABcore reserves ten beds for participants of the 450 Program who are being transitioned from state hospitals back to the community. There is also a respite bed in each boarding home reserved for someone in need of emergency housing on a temporary basis. In January, 2006 we began providing an emergency respite bed for the Monmouth County PATH program.
Central to our philosophy is the recognition that we must help our clients attack the root causes of their poverty. As our population has evolved to one where the majority are people with mental illness, we have expanded support services to accommodate their needs and to foster self-sufficiency. The specific goal of our programs, as described above, is to promote self-sufficiency in a structured, family-like atmosphere. In so doing, we furnish our residents with the tools to reach their highest level of independent living. 77% of our departing residents over the last five years have gone on to live in a more independent setting.
HABcore’s success has been recognized by the Monmouth County Department of Community Development, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, and HUD.
In terms of physical growth, we have expanded from five residents to eighty-four since our inception. We currently manage two boarding houses and two independent, but supported “graduate” housing facilities. Though our Red Bank boarding home, The Coffey Residence, opened with a five bed availability, an expansion in 1993 allowed us to accommodate the twenty-one residents who now live there at below market rents. In 1992, a two-family home was purchased; this home provides housing for five people who live independently. In 1998, we more than doubled in size by acquiring The Laurel House, a boarding home in Asbury Park that accommodates twenty-eight people. In 2005, we began a new program to provide rental subsidies and case management services to twenty-two homeless people with disabilities in Monmouth County. In June of 2005, we acquired a new site in Keansburg to provide another seven units of affordable supportive housing. HABcore reserves ten beds for participants of the 450 Program who are being transitioned from state hospitals back to the community. There is also a respite bed in each boarding home reserved for someone in need of emergency housing on a temporary basis. In January, 2006 we began providing an emergency respite bed for the Monmouth County PATH program.
Central to our philosophy is the recognition that we must help our clients attack the root causes of their poverty. As our population has evolved to one where the majority are people with mental illness, we have expanded support services to accommodate their needs and to foster self-sufficiency. The specific goal of our programs, as described above, is to promote self-sufficiency in a structured, family-like atmosphere. In so doing, we furnish our residents with the tools to reach their highest level of independent living. 77% of our departing residents over the last five years have gone on to live in a more independent setting.
HABcore’s success has been recognized by the Monmouth County Department of Community Development, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, and HUD.
Call for Support
HABcore needs financial and political support to help ensure that the less fortunate of Monmouth County can have a safe home and the tools necessary to rebuild their lives.
According to the NJ Housing Mortgage and Financing Agency, there are 8,000 chronically homeless people in New Jersey. Unfortunately, the rezoning tendencies of local municipalities’ have all but phased out any possible development of multi-family affordable housing in an effort to minimize density and keep "our" folks out of "their" backyard.
HABcore is asking that the state and municipalities begin to recognize that we are caring for people who, in many cases, were previously supported by the state at a cost in excess of $100,000 per year. It is a fact that HABcore is preventing individuals from entering the costly hospital system, as 83% of our current residents were previously cared for in that system. We could help so many more in need and save the taxpayers thousands of dollars if we had more financial support.
Efforts to expand and help improve the quality of life in situations ranging from dilapidated boarding homes to the streets are seriously hindered by limited funds. There is simply no money out there to acquire existing facilities and rehabilitate them. We would like our local and state government to help us in this area so we may concentrate on client support and expanding our services.
According to the NJ Housing Mortgage and Financing Agency, there are 8,000 chronically homeless people in New Jersey. Unfortunately, the rezoning tendencies of local municipalities’ have all but phased out any possible development of multi-family affordable housing in an effort to minimize density and keep "our" folks out of "their" backyard.
HABcore is asking that the state and municipalities begin to recognize that we are caring for people who, in many cases, were previously supported by the state at a cost in excess of $100,000 per year. It is a fact that HABcore is preventing individuals from entering the costly hospital system, as 83% of our current residents were previously cared for in that system. We could help so many more in need and save the taxpayers thousands of dollars if we had more financial support.
Efforts to expand and help improve the quality of life in situations ranging from dilapidated boarding homes to the streets are seriously hindered by limited funds. There is simply no money out there to acquire existing facilities and rehabilitate them. We would like our local and state government to help us in this area so we may concentrate on client support and expanding our services.