HABcore, Housing the Homeless...More Stability, More Dignity, More Hope

More Stability, More Dignity, More Hope

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.

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.

POKER NIGHT 2010 REGISTRATION IS OPEN!!!

Advance registration is required.

HABcore will hold a a Texas Hold’em Tournament on March 12th. Blackjack and Roulette for prizes available as well.
The benefit will be held at the Elks Lodge in Red Bank, NJ, from 7:00-11:00pm. Registration begins at 6:00pm.
Tickets are $100 to play poker, otherwise $75.

Full Open Bar and Buffet included.

To purchase tickets... Click on the DONATE NOW button on the left and designate POKER NIGHT with names of attendees in the DESIGNATION box

The flyer is available on our SPECIAL EVENTS page.

Prizes include:
$1200 VISA Gift Card
$1000 Raymond Weil Sport Watch
Atlantic City Stay & Play Package
Golf Outings
Giants Tickets
Nets Tickets
VIP tickets to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Swiss Army Watch
and much more...., over $5000 in prizes will be awarded!

This event is sponsored by:
The McNamee Wealth Management Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
Craig & Sher Van Fossan
The Curchin Group, LLC.
Circle BMW
Law Offices of Lawrence W. Luttrell
Law Offices of Steven Lang
Spano Family Charitable Foundation
Rumson-Fair Haven Bank, Charitable Trust Fund of the Community Foundation of NJ

Read our recent HABcourier newsletter Link to PDF.

From volunteers...

My family volunteers at the Coffey residence, it is truly a “WIN, WIN, WIN” situation.
I am able to teach my children a valuable life lesson, while assisting the staff with one of their daily chores.
However, the gratitude the clients express over something as ordinary to us as a simple meal,is by far the most rewarding part of these experiences and it often reminds of a wonderful and powerful quote

“We can do no great things; only small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

Michelle T.

As a mother of two boys, eight and thirteen, I was looking for an opportunity that would allow for us to volunteer together as a family. Furthermore, given our very busy lives, I was looking for something with some schedule flexibility. Finally and most importantly I was looking for an opportunity to first hand meet some individuals who are less fortunate than us but with whom we could build a relationship over time. Habcore provided all that and more. My boys and I have been volunteering at Habcore for a little less than a year now. In the beginning, we would drop by the Coffey house for a short visit. We would have some nice chats with the residents and the boys would always end up playing video games with the residents, some playing and some just happy to be watching. We soon evolved to the "birthday" family. Whenever any of the residents have a birthday, we drop by after dinner with a cake (and now even a gift for the birthday person). Over Christmas we brought homemade cookies for everyone. My children enjoy the residents and the visits. Whenever we are driving through Red Bank they usually ask to stop by Habcore. It's a familiar and comfortable place for them. During the month of November, we were very busy with out of state soccer tournaments, Thanksgiving, family reunions, etc. Needless to say we missed a birthday and did not visit the Coffey house that month. When we visited in December, Darlene the house manager mentioned that the residents missed us, especially the boys. They were concerned that they had done something wrong to turn us away! Frankly, I had no idea we were making such a difference and I was much moved. Knowing that you are actually making someone's life just a bit brighter is tremendously fulfilling. As a mother, I truly hope that these visits to the Coffey house will help shape my boys into caring, giving and thoughtful individuals. And when they are all grown up and return home for the holidays, along with visiting their friends and family, they will drop by the Coffey house for old time sake.

Rita

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.

In November, 2008 we began providing supportive housing to two single mothers and three children in Beachwood (Ocean County). By 2011, we hope to have completed the acquisition and rehabilitation of the three properties in Beachwood that will provide independent supportive apartments for a total of 16 homeless individuals and families.

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.