After eight years serving the Trenton area, the last newspaper with the name “The Wall” has come off the press. However, we are happy to announce that our publication is continuing to serve Mercer County residents experiencing homelessness and expanding our coverage under our new name: “The Streetlight.”
Starting with the Summer 2018 edition, all of our print copies will feature our new name, along with new features such as “The Spotlight,” “The Highlight,” “The Streetlight Investigates,” and an updated Mercer County Resource Guide. In addition, as part of our rebranding, we have a new website and social media handles where all new stories and updates from the editorial team will be posted. Our new website is thestreetlight.pages.tcnj.edu and our new Facebook URL is facebook.com/thestreetlighttrenton. We can be found on Twitter by visiting @TCNJStreetlight.
Print copies are now being distributed by Bonner Community Scholars from The College of New Jersey at soup kitchens, municipal buildings, libraries, shelters, and other locations throughout Mercer County. Click here to find a distribution site near you.
We will be holding a launch event in the fall to celebrate our rebranding. To get involved, send us an email at our new address: thestreetlightnewspaper@gmail.com.
Thank you for reading The Wall and we look forwarding to continuing to serve you at The Streetlight.
A student from The College of New Jersey helps stock the shelves at HomeFront in Lawrence Township during a CEL (Community Engaged Learning) Day. Photo by Jared Kofsky.
This week, Mercer County residents will get the opportunity to learn more about the services offered by a major local organization.
HomeFront, which serves residents of the capital region who are experiencing homelessness and/or poverty from its office in Trenton’s East Trenton Center, its Family Campus in Ewing Township, the Lawrence Community Center, the FreeStore in Trenton’s Chambersburg neighborhood, and its headquarters facility in Lawrence Township, has been operating in this community for well over two decades. The group, which is a community partner of The College of New Jersey’s Center for Community Engaged Learning and Research, offers resources and services such as a food pantry, emergency housing, transitional housing, affordable housing, ArtSpace, SewingSpace, Furnish the Future, and more.
Now, those interested in finding out more about the services that are offered by HomeFront will have another opportunity to do so. The organization will hold an open house called ‘Home Is Where the Heart Is’ this Tuesday, February 13th, according to the Trenton Health Team. From 4:00pm to 7:00pm, attendees will be able to tour the headquarters facility at 1880 Princeton Avenue near the Brunswick Circle in Lawrence Township. The building is is accessible from New Jersey Transit’s 606 bus. From 4:00pm to 7:00pm, visitors can meet the staff at HomeFront along with the Board of Directors and local volunteers. Information will be available in regards to signing up for services from the organization.
Are you looking to find housing, food, and/or clothing in Trenton, Princeton, Hamilton, or other Mercer County communities? You can now pick up the Winter 2017-18 edition of The Wall at dozens of sites throughout the region. The newspaper’s resource guide features a variety of local organizations and agencies that are ready to serve you.
As freezing temperatures continue to impact the capital region, Trenton residents and families experiencing homelessness will be welcome to come inside for a hot meal this weekend.
Although most soup kitchens and food pantries in the Trenton area are closed on Saturdays and Sundays, a church in the East Trenton neighborhood will open its doors on Saturday, February 10th to offer lunch to people experiencing homelessness. The Church of Christ, located within a 15 minute walk of the Rescue Mission of Trenton at 411 North Clinton Avenue, will be collaborating with the Allentown Presbyterian Church (APC) in suburban Monmouth County in order to serve this late morning meal.
According to the APC’s website, doors will open at 10:30am. Items will include salads and fruit packs, and clothing might also be available to residents who come early.
Are you looking to find housing, food, and/or clothing in Trenton, Princeton, Hamilton, or other Mercer County communities? You can now pick up the Winter 2017-18 edition of The Wall at dozens of sites throughout the region. The newspaper’s resource guide features a variety of local organizations and agencies that are ready to serve you.
The Salvation Army’s Mobile Canteen at the corner of Oakland Avenue and Hoffman Street in Trenton. Photo by Jared Kofsky.
While a number of innovative organizations and programs are working to provide food services to individuals experiencing homelessness and food insecurity, one newly implemented effort stands out: The Salvation Army’s Mobile Canteen.
The initiative first began in October 2015 through the combined efforts of the then Corps Officers of the Trenton Citadel Corps, Captains Moises and Jackie Rivera as well as Salvation Army employees, Shanique Taliaferro and David Simmons and two dedicated volunteer chefs, Chris and Nico Cappuccino.
Today, the initiative is comprised of a service unit truck that travels around Trenton on Friday nights to deliver a warm meal to residents. The canteen serves hot, nutritious meals and gives access to information regarding social services/programs offered by the Corps on a consistent, weekly basis. When available, it also provides residents with personal items such as grooming kits, books, and socks and Poetry hats in the winter. It serves approximately 150 Trenton residents every Friday.
Over the past several months, the service has become a vital resource for individuals experiencing food and home insecurity in Trenton. The initiative was first started in response to a need in the Mercer and Trenton communities: the most prominent soup kitchen in Trenton is closed on Friday nights, leaving a number of city residents without access to their final meal of the day.
The Mobile Canteen works to meet this need, “It is a great way to supplement the efforts of the other hardworking non-profit organizations in the area. It is also a great way to do community outreach, identify needs, and to try to implement a plan to help an individual or family,” said Danielle Focarile, the Special Events and Communication Manager of The Salvation Army of Mercer, Hunterdon and Somerset Counties (West Central Region).
The Wall recently accompanied the Mobile Canteen as it traveled through the capital city on a frigid Friday evening. Every time the vehicle, covered with The Salvation Army’s logo, pulled up to one of its four stops, crowds of Trentonians, including children and senior citizens, approached, hoping for a warm meal.
At each of the locations, which included Walnut Avenue, Carroll Street, Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, and the corner of Oakland Street and Hoffman Avenue, a variety of items were distributed, from cheeseburgers to copies of The Wall.
After each stop, the group linked arams with community members who stopped by, said a prayer together, and moved on to the next neighborhood.
In a short period of time, the project has made a significant impact in the Trenton community. For those working the canteen, they are not only serving food, they are also engaging and building relationships with neighbors and community members.
“The initiative has impacted the Trenton community by showing them we care. We are accomplishing our mission of ‘doing the most good’ in these neighborhoods. A child running up to our canteen each week happy, excited knowing that they are going to have a good meal that night makes the initiative impactful to us and those we serve.” said Taliaferro.
After many months of successfully serving Trenton residents, the team is looking to expand its impact in the community.
“Our current goals are to identify those who are in need and to try to help them the best we can. While providing a nice meal once a week is a good start, it is our long-term goal to provide the tools and opportunities for those who are reliant on us to become independent and contributing members of society,” said current Corps Officer Major Elijah Kahn.
To learn more about the Mobile Canteen and volunteering for The Salvation Army, contact Shanique Taliaferro: shanique.taliaferro@ usa.salvationarmy.org (609) 599-9373 x114
Above: The Rescue Mission of Trenton will soon be expanding beyond the emergency shelter on Ewing and Carroll Streets. Photo by Jared Kofsky.
For the last several years, the historic house at 300 South Clinton Avenue at the edge of Trenton’s Chambersburg neighborhood has been an eyesore in the community.
The three-story property has stood on the corner of Tyler Street in the North Ward for well over a century, according to NJ Parcels data; but those who walk by the building today will often see the first floor windows boarded up and covered with weeds and garbage scattered across the front sidewalk. Even the front door is no longer visible.
This house was once occupied by Dr. Arthur M. Barrows, according to an early 20th century medical directory, a 1920 Trenton City Directory, as well as local students and professors. It was later home to the Lifeline Emergency Center, but the home has continued to sit vacant over the years. However, The Wall has learned that the days of 300 South Clinton Avenue remaining in its current state are numbered.
In September 2016, with assistance from Mercer County, the City of Trenton sold this property for $1 to the 112-year-old Rescue Mission of Trenton in an effort to increase housing for individuals experiencing homelessness in the capital region. Now, the Rescue Mission’s plans for this five-bedroom 4.5 bathroom house have been revealed.
According to Barrett Young, the Rescue Mission’s Chief Operating Officer, the house is slated to be rehabilitated and converted into a shared living space once again with one bedroom for each of the five residents. The one-bedroom units will be reserved for women who are currently experiencing homelessness in Mercer County.
“There is a great need for permanent supportive housing in the Mercer area,” Young stated, adding that he thinks that this project “will provide a sense of hope and permanency for the women who will be living there.”
Bids for general contractors for the project were accepted in September, according to a legal notice, and Young told The Wall that construction was expected to begin in November or December. The rehabilitation process is expected to last between eight and nine months.
The house is located in a very walkable community, and is situated within a few blocks of Arm in Arm’s new location on Hudson Street, the Trenton Transit Center, the Roebling Market Food Bazaar, and New Jersey Transit buses. Although the property is several blocks away from the Rescue Mission’s main emergency shelter on Carroll Street, residents will still have access to services and resources like mental health or substance abuse treatment from the organization or its community partners, which will be provided on a case-by-case basis.
Young said that “this is a pilot project,” explaining that “the Rescue Mission has done some permanent supportive housing for single adult men before, but this is our first in the arena of permanent supportive housing for women.”
Although he acknowledged that due to the small size of this building, there are not a lot of units inside, Young pointed out how this rehabilitation project will have a significant impact on the lives of the selected five Trentonians who no longer are forced to sleep on the streets of the city or in the shelter.
He hopes that this will lead to larger projects of this type in Trenton. “It shows that the Rescue Mission is committed to servicing the homeless residents in the Mercer area,” said Young,
According to the Rescue Mission’s Director of Administration Regan Mumolie, funding is being provided by Mercer County Department of Human Services Homelesness Trust Fund, the City of Trenton, and the Rescue Mission.
Women experiencing homelessness must fill out an application if they are interested in residing at 300 South Clinton Avenue once the rehabilitation project is completed.
Even though there is still significant work that must be completed before the first residents can move in, those who are interested in learning more about the application process can reach out to the Rescue Mission’s Manager of Permanent Housing and Supportive Services, Sheila Scott in person or over the phone.
Should an applicant be accepted, “they can stay forever,” according to Young.
Written with and for individuals experiencing homelessness in the Trenton, New Jersey area.
