“It’s difficult to describe the euphoria thatcomes when you literally save a family’schildren from the trauma of becominghomeless,” explains Connie Mercer. “Butthere is a heavy price to be paid for thatspecial joy and it comes due like clock-work every Monday at 3:30 pm.” That’swhen the Homelessness Prevention casemanagers, Phoebe, Deb, Carrie Ann andBrenda, meet to review the cries forhelp that have come inthe past week and decide who HomeFrontcan afford to help andwho they can’t.

To understand whythese meetings are sopainful, one needs to lookclosely at the numbers.HomeFront spends about$620,000 per year onhomelessness prevention;rent and security de-posits and ancillary serv-ices for families withchildren who have reachedthe end of their rope. Thismoney comes from a mixof government and private sources.Over half a million sounds like a lot,until you know that HomeFront re-ceives an average of 40 phone calls aday to our emergency hotline.

The meeting is a somber one, with eachcase manager a passionate advocate for

the people who sat across from themand asked for help the previous week.They all understand the harsh realities,however, and know that choices have tobe made. There are certain criteria that

help with the “firstcut.” Is the family intrue crisis or justlooking for a bettersituation? Do theyhave a plan forgoing forward afterthe aid or are theyjust going to beback here in a cou-ple of months? Arethey willing to makecompromises andrelocate? Whatother extenuating

circumstances arethey facing? Thiseliminates a few

cases but really not that many. The teamis still left with too few resources to helptoo few families, all people who havegone through terrible times.

“Even though there is a framework,these decisions are really more of an artthan a science,” Connie Mercer continues.

“I have so much respect for these casemanagers and their confidence, caringand understanding of each case. Theytrust each other too and they all makethese choices together. We know thateach of them will have to go back to thefamilies that were declined and givethem the news. We always try to referthem to other agencies but it doesn’tmake the news any easier to deliver.”

So, what keeps this team of bravewomen coming back every Monday af-ternoon to have their big hearts brokenagain? It’s the euphoria that comes whenyou see the faces of a family beinghugged by HomeFront’s big, warm armsof wrap-around services. HomeFrontCase Manager Phoebe Brown recentlysent Connie an email with the subjectline: I love my job–

“Connie, I just had to share with youhow great it was for me to be with theOrlando family yesterday when theymoved into their new place. When theHomeFront truck pulled up with furni-ture and beds, Mr. and Mrs. Orlando justheld each other and their kids andsobbed. Who sees stuff this beautiful? I just love my job!!”

Inside: KidZone Upcoming Events Our Community Cares HomeFront Happenings

WINTER 2019

HomeFront MaersHomeFront Maers

Tasha and her daughter were able tostay in their home and get back ontheir feet, thanks to HomeFront'shomelessness prevention program.

HomeFront receives an average of 40 phone calls a day

to our emergency hotline.

The Worst Day of Every Week – And Then the BestLast year, 624 individuals receivedemergency housing assistance to

stay in their homes or to pay security deposits for decent housing.

On the CoverEach issue of HomeFront Matters features work createdby an ArtSpace artist. Thisissue’s winter scene waspainted by Miriam M.

New Annual ImpactReport AvailableFor a hard copy of the

report, contact MeghanCubano, Director of

Community Engagement, bycalling 609-989-9417 x133.View the report online atwww.homefrontnj.org.

HomeFront a Warrior In a National BattleThe week of November 16-23 was National Homelessnessand Hunger Awareness Week. For the third year, HomeFrontjoined the national dialogue in a variety of ways. ConnieMercer moderated Hunger and Homelessness: A Panel

Discussion with pan-elists including SarahSteward, HomeFront’sCOO and TKLawrence, a formerHomeFront client.They were joined byMary Gay Abbott-Young, CEO of theRescue Mission ofTrenton and KathrynEdin, Princeton University professorand poverty researcher. LabyrinthBookstore in Princeton generouslyhosted the discus-

sion. In addition, powerful thematic artistic statementsabout homelessness and hunger were featured for severaldays at the popular ArtSpace Holiday Market at the Family Campus.

Mercer Inducted into NJ Hall of FameOn September 14, Connie Mercer became only the 2nd person to be inducted into the NJ Housing and Economic Development Hall of Fame for her decades of work with theState’s struggling families. Connie was presented with thehonor by Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City. Ms. Oliver remarked, “Connie Mercer’stireless advocacy and tenacity in fighting for the homelessstems from her remarkable ability to connect with, and compassionately care for, people in need of help…”

A SMART WAY TO GIVE: Once you turn 70.5 youare required to take funds out of your Individual Retirement Account (IRA). Those who meet theage requirement can transfer up to $100,000 peryear directly to a charitable organization withoutpaying income tax on the transaction. You will not need to itemize your taxes in order to make an IRA charitable distribution. Reach out to yourfinancial planner to learn more about this mutu-ally beneficial way to make a gift.

WISHLIST:• Large-3XL adult

winter coats

• Cars in working order

• Small electric heaters

• Air fryer

• Small gifts for momsand dads

• Baby items

• Towels, linens, blankets

• Laundry detergent

• Gift cards to movietheater, Shop Rite,Walmart

To donate items or get moreinformation, contact us: getinvolved@homefrontnj.org or 609-989-9417 x133.

KidZone!HomeFront kids are delighted with activities that nourish their lives and give them a vision of a brighter future.

UPCOMING EVENTS

For details, visit our website:www.HomeFrontNJ.org

Jr. Yachters Make Big Waves for Homeless KidsLongtime HomeFront supporter Edye Dumhart and The Brant Beach Yacht Clubhave been hosting a joyous end of summer day at the beach for our kids for tenyears. Joy, Hopes and Dreams (JHD) Director, Chris Marchetti, remarked “AsYacht Club VIPs for the day, our children and families get to escape the harsh realities of daily life, riding through the bay on boats and yachts, splashing in thewaters with old friends, or just kicking back relaxing on the beach. They look for-

ward to this trip each year.”To make this year even morespecial, local teens on theJunior Advisory Board of the Brant Beach Yacht Clubproudly presented Home-Front with a $23,000 dona-tion for our JHD programwhich encompasses enrich-ment, tutoring and field tripsfor kids experiencing home-lessness or at-risk.

Music Unites Local Teens The Princeton Meadow Church rocked as HomeFront’s own talented Joy,Hopes and Dreams teens partnered with other local teens from the musicalgroup IMPACT for a show-stopping evening performance. All proceeds from

the benefit performance wentto help fund our children’s program. The idea for the jointperformance began last springwhen the IMPACT group offeredto come perform at the FamilyCampus. After the show, one of the parents of an IMPACT performer suggested the idea of a joint benefit concert. AlexisMatejka, our Joy, Hopes andDreams program associate, said,“this amazing opportunity allowed our children to show off their talents in ways thatthey might not have been able to anywhere else. It was so wonderful to see them shine andbe so proud of their hard work.”

Best Socks in theHistory of FeetTeam Up withHomeFrontBombas, the rapidly growing luxurysock makers, has chosen HomeFrontas one of the receiving agencies intheir pledge to donate a pair of socksto a homeless person for every pairbought.

Specially made for the homeless withwarmth and durability, 10,000 pairs ofBombas socks in adult and kids’ sizeshave arrived so far.

JANUARY 18-25, 2020A Week of Hope

Coffee with Connie & Sarah

February 20, 202010 a.m.Family Campus

11th Annual Women’s Initiative Spring Luncheon

May 32020

COBBLESTONE CREEK COUNTRY CLUB

JUNE 7, 2020

Our Community Cares

BlackRock Volunteers “Lean In” to HomeFrontThe employees of BlackRock Financial’s Princeton office,led by HomeFront Board Member Robert Eaton, have de-veloped their own holistic approach to volunteering atHomeFront and have enveloped us in a big BlackRock hug.At the Family Campus, they have prepared meals for theresidents and food for an open house in the Teaching

Kitchen. Theyhave treatedour children toa WonderfulWednesday atsummer campand a holidayevent for thevery littleones.

These gener-ous and creative professionals have held comprehensive interview/resume workshops for our Hire Expectationsclients and even tapped into their creative side and painted a mural in ArtSpace. We love BlackRock!

Thank Bedbugs(And the RWJ Foundation) For New Jersey’s New Shelter NetworkIt all started in the summer of 2018when HomeFront was dealingwith a bedbug problem inthe close quarters of thefamily shelter. We soughtadvice with little successfrom those who ran hotelsand school dorms. We needed totalk to people who could address the issue from the per-spective of running a shelter for vulnerable and trauma-tized homeless families – other shelter providers! Butalas, with all the associations in existence, we realizedthere was no established group of other shelter providersto whom we could reach out.

So, on an unusually snowy morning in November of lastyear, we pulled together a day-long meeting at the RobertWood Johnson Foundation. Dozens of homeless shelterand service providers from across New Jersey heeded ourcall and made their way through the slush to attend.

What an exhilarating day. The energy in the room waspalpable, and HomeFront got bedbug tips and so muchmore. Attendees shared important challenges and shelterissues that can best be addressed collectively. The needfor collaboration, and the potential impact and value ofgatherings like this, was obvious to everyone.

We prepared a grant application. And, now, nearly ayear later, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, whohosted the November event, has agreed to underwrite thestartup costs of New Jersey Shelter Providers (initiallyunder the direction of HomeFront). The new Networkwill share ideas and resources to increase the quality ofshelter care for NJ families in crisis and give voice andrepresentation to shelter providers and the people weserve. This is a big win for the homeless in our state.

People often ask why we haven't started other Home-Fronts around the state and nation. Although we havenever believed we had the bandwidth to do it, this associa-tion allows HomeFront's best practices to be shared withother nonprofits and gives us an opportunity to learnfrom them.

What makes us tick? You do! From our very beginning, our volunteers and donorshave been and continue to be our heart and soul. Hereare just a few wonderful examples of what happenswhen our community steps in.

Our families are extra cozy on this cold morning. Many Thanks to the NJ Department of Transportation for the warm coats and winter accessories! We were excited to welcome Commissioner DianeGutierrez-Scaccetti at our Family Campus and to thank her for theamazing donations.

Please come visit the HomeFront Family Campus!Contact Liza Peck at LizaP@homefrontnj.org toschedule a tour.

HomeFront Happenings

Two hundred HomeFront supporters gathered at the amaz-ing Terhune Orchards on September 26 to celebrate thisyear’s recipients of HomeFront’s annual “Building A BetterWorld” awards for their dedication to HomeFront’s mission- ending family homelessness in our community.

The 2019 honorees were pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb, the first corporation to support our workover 30 years ago and continues to support us generously,and specifically, BMS employee John Murray, Director of Facilities and Operations, for his personal leadership helpingHomeFront’s families for so many years.

Farm to Pharma Event Recognizes BMS and BMS’s Murray

HomeFront’s Comprehensive Model to be Featured at National Conference

The Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness willoffer a daylong field trip to the Family Campus in Ewingas a kickoff for participants in their national two-day conference in New York City, Beyond Housing 2020. Thehonor comes as HomeFront is increasingly recognized as a national thought leader and model for one-stop, holisticsocial services for both adults and children.

HomeFront and CHOP; A Healthy PartnershipSeven years ago, Sheila Addison, Head of the Family Cam-pus, reached out to pediatrician Dr. Melissa Bennett of theChildren’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s (CHOP) HomelessHealth Initiative. Addison saw our clients turning too frequently to emergency rooms for lack of a basic under-standing of health care issues. Dr. Bennett established ahealth education program with Ilsa Lord, HomeFront'sWellness and Legal Advocacy Manager and Hire Expecta-tions Instructor for homeless parents and the programwas soon joined, and augmented, by retired nurse practi-tioner, Linda Sichel.

“Each week weinvite a differentprofessional totalk to our momsand dads about a whole host ofhealth issues affecting their children. Lindaand I also providea consistent,trusted presenceat the campus, so

residents feel comfortable asking us advice on a wholehost of medical issues,” explained Dr. Bennett. “We havealso been building a network of pediatric and women’shealth doctors who accept Medicaid so parents have placesto call where they know they can get help for themselvesand their children.” These two great volunteers haveopened the door to healthier lives for HomeFront families.

Half a Million Dollar MatchAwaits More Endowment GiftsWhen HomeFront launched its endowment campaign, twovery special longtime members of the HomeFront family,Jane and Simon Hallett, pledged to match each gift madeup to a $500,000 total donation. The great news for us isthat we are a little over halfway to our goal! The greatnews for donors is that the match has been extended untilthe campaign ends in October 2020.

1880 Princeton Ave., Lawrenceville, NJ 08648

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We wish each of you the kind of holidays that will delight the child within you.

We feel your warm hand in ours every day.

— HomeFront

When we count our blessings thisholiday season, we count you twice.When we count our blessings thisholiday season, we count you twice.