Hope For Homeless Walk Set For Saturday In Toms River

Toms River NJ

01 April, 2022

8:28 PM

Description

TOMS RIVER, NJ — With the weather beginning to warm up, those who lack permanent housing in Ocean County find themselves seeking out spaces for makeshift shelter, for the days when the weather turns bad. That's because Ocean County does not have a year-round transitional housing facility for the homeless. It is the only county in New Jersey that does not have a year-round facility. Former Toms River councilman Terrance Turnbach and a number of organizations, including the volunteers with Just Believe, want to change that, so Saturday morning they are planning to march down Hooper Avenue to once again highlight the needs for those who lack a roof over their heads. The Hope for the Homeless walk is set for 9 a.m. Saturday, departing from St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church and walking down Hooper Avenue to outside the Ocean County Administration building at 101 Hooper Ave., where the Ocean County Board of Commissioners have their offices. "This winter we sheltered approximately 50 Ocean County residents per night in our Code Blue warming centers," Turnbach said Friday in a reminder about the walk. He is hopeful that a show of support for the walk will restart discussions with some of the Ocean County commissioners who have expressed some willingness to talk about solutions in the past. "Today, April 1, 2022, Code Blue ends for the year by law, and those 50 people are back to the streets and woods. Every other county in our state has some form of year-round transitional housing set up for those struggling with housing insecurity," Turnbach wrote. "We can do better here in Ocean County and we will," he said. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters here, or download our app to have breaking news alerts sent right to your phone. Have a news tip? Email [email protected] Follow Toms River Patch on Facebook.