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Amid a surge in homeless people gathering at night on the Newton Green, local and county officials are discussing potential solutions.
Among the first steps likely to be taken are surveys of just who is congregating on the Green and what social services are available to them, according to Newton Town Manager Thomas Russo, who organized an Aug. 27 meeting on the issue.
While the issue is complex in an area with ‘urban versus suburban versus rural concerns,” Russo said, the group hopes “to be a model for the state,” in helping the homeless population.
“The skills and desires are there,” he said in an interview, calling the initial meeting encouraging.
The gathering of about 20 people included representatives from state and Sussex County government as well as social service agencies. Among the topics discussed was a program adopted by the city of Newark, which has faced similar issues.
“It was a good staring point for me and our future endeavors as we face this issue,” Russo said of the nearly two-hour-long, private session. “It is an issue in Newton, but it’s not ‘Newton only.’ Each person who shows up on the Green is an individual story with individual needs.”
As the seat of county government and social services, and with a centrally located park that provides open space, benches and street lighting, Newton has become a place where those with nowhere else to go can gather at night.
Theose without shelter have been attracted to the park for decades. Still, while no definitive count has been taken, the numbers appear to be on the rise recently, officials say, as the homeless see the Green as a place they can find safety in numbers.
“In recent months, officers have responded to an increasing number of quality-of-life concerns involving the population on the County Green,” Newton police wrote in a post in an Aug. 22 Facebook post. “These efforts have led to 45 summonses in June, 66 in July, and 74 as of August 22nd for violations of local and state laws.”“I commend the men and women of the Newton Police Department for their dedication to protecting our community,” Russo added in the same post. “But enforcement alone will never be the full answer. Homelessness is a challenge faced across the country, and it requires both compassion and creativity.
The Green is county property and within the past couple of years, the Sussex County commissioners have tried to address the issue.
The county last year tore down the gazebo which stood on the Park Place side of the rectangular park. The official reason given was that the structure had fallen into disrepair, but the gazebo had also become a spot for drug use and a sleeping space. At least one “sexual offense” has also been recorded there, police reported last year.
The county also established an 11 p.m. curfew for the area, giving Newton police a reason to clear the park as midnight approached. When that did not eliminate the issue of people sleeping in the Green, town officers began writing citations for trespass to those found violating the curfew.
“It was an effort to get them to move from A to B,” Russo said in the interview. “The problem was they only came back to A.”
A municipal judge has a choice on how to handle the violations — either through a fine or jail time. Being indigent, few of those cited have paid the fine. The Sussex County jail, meanwhile, stopped housing prisoners in November 2019, when the county signed a contract to send its inmates to the Morris County Correctional Facility in Morristown.
Sussex Sheriff Michael Strada, who was not invited to the Newton session, said anyone sentenced to jail in Newton would have to be sent to the Morris County lockup. “We pay [Morris County] for that right, and then there is a per-day fee as well,” Strada said.
More: Sussex Commissioners vote on jail sale, hear pleas for new prosecutor’s office
Despite the slim chances of a fine being paid, officers are still writing three to four summons a day, according to Russo. “It hasn’t made a difference at a hundred a month,” he said.
The latest meeting was called, he added, “to find out what resources I have” to work with as well as to gather the support needed.
He said Jessica Caldwell, Newton’s town planner, will examine state and nationwide programs dealing with the homeless.
Also at the meeting was Barry Dreger, an aquaintance of Russo’s who is working with Newark on its own homeless issues. He will look at the overall homeless population in Sussex and surrounding areas as well as what services are available.
Russo said he wants to involve not only government agencies at all levels, but private and not-for-profit service providers and smaller-scale programs such as those run by local churches.
“This is going to be a long-term commitment,” the manager said. While the current issue may involve only a dozen or so homeless people at night, it “could grow to 30 next year and 50 the year after,” he said. “We can’t have that on the Green nor on Spring Street. Why has it become Newton’s responsibility?”
A historic marker telling the history of the Newton Green is seen in this July 2024 file photo. Local and county officials met to discuss how to help homeless people sleeping overnight in the park.
At least one piece of help came immediately at the meeting, Russo said. County officials agreed to use some of the money they have received through a national settlement tied to the opioid crisis.
At the commissioners’ Aug. 20 meeting, the board noted that Sussex County has received $350,000 as its share of a lawsuit settled between New Jersey municipalities and companies that manufactured opioids. The suit alleged the companies’ deliberate efforts to downplay the addictive nature of the drugs.
New Jersey affordable housing programs may also have some funding available for homeless services, Russo said.
He said the group has scheduled a second meeting for Sept. 8.
This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: As homeless gather on Newton Green, Sussex County seeks solutions
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