Homeless Population Growth Draws Summit Residents' Ire

SUMMIT, NJ — The issue of increased homelessness was a common concern that Summit residents brought up at Tuesday night's Council meeting.

Many residents noted that there has been an increase of homeless people at the Summit train station, bus stops and on Union Place. Mayor Nora Radest said the City is aware of the increased number of homeless people and spoke about a number of efforts the City is working on to alleviate this issue.

Homelessness In Union County

Monarch Housing Associates, a non-profit based in Cranford, recently released its 2022 Point-In-Time Count of the Homeless report which includes data collected by county staff, government officials and local nonprofit organizations who surveyed people staying outdoors in late January.

On the night of Jan. 25, 2022, a total of 6,631 households, including 8,754 people, were experiencing homelessness in the State of New Jersey, according to the 2022 Point-In-Time Count.

The report shows that Union County had a total of 667 homeless people as of January, which represents 8 percent of the state's unhoused population. Union County tied with Hudson County for the second-highest amount reported. Essex County had the highest unhoused population in the state at 22 percent.

The report also states that the 2022 Count was greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,

and "about 26.8% (91 households) of households who identified their current episode of homelessness as directly caused by COVID-19 were unsheltered."

Residents' Concerns

A few residents expressed safety concerns in regards to the increased homeless population, citing a few recent incidents where a fight broke out between homeless individuals.

Spokesperson Amy Cairns shared with Patch three incidents involving homeless people in the City.

The first occurred on on Oct. 19 at around 3:15 p.m. when a 38-year-old homeless man indicated he was assaulted by a 38-year-old homeless woman.

Summit Police said the man was uninjured and did not pursue charges. The matter was turned over to the NJ Transit Police Department.

Then on Oct. 31 at around 9 p.m., Summit police units responded to track two at the Summit Train Station to assist NJ Transit Police on a report of a possible fight. On arrival, the track area was clear as the westbound train was leaving the station, police said. The matter was then turned over to NJ Transit Police Department.

Lastly, on Nov. 1 at 6:33 am. a dispute broke out between a 57-year-old New Providence man and a 61-year-old woman from East Orange, police said. On arrival, both individuals told Summit Police that they had been involved in a verbal dispute with no physical altercation. Again, the matter was turned over to NJ Transit Police Department.

"We have watched the homeless population explode in town with seemingly zero action, or at least results, from our government," resident Brian Gagnon said at Tuesday's meeting.

Radest disagreed that the population has "exploded" but said it "certainly has increased."

Another resident, Nick Curiale, said there was recent altercation between a former homeless person and a female customer at the Dunkin' at 33 Union Place.

According to Summit Police, the altercation took place on Wednesday, Oct .26 between a 61-year-old Roselle man and a 41-year-old Union Township woman. Police said the dispute escalated when the man spit at the woman and threw his coffee at her.

The woman retaliated by throwing her coffee at him and the two began to physically strike one another, police said. A second man, who had been sitting with the woman, intervened and separated the two, de-escalating the situation, police said.

Radest said this man now has an apartment in another town but was back in Summit recently for a doctor's visit.

Summit Police arrested the man and charged him with simple assault. He was later released, police said.

Curiale expressed concern about the safety of children who walk by the train station and Union Place after school .

"There are kids that are walking in this train station everyday when they leave school or either walk home and come downtown," Curiale said. "Every parent should be incredibly concerned about what's happening at the train station."

"We're a very compassionate town, we always want to take care of our own," Curiale added. "We need to ensure that everyone is treated with dignity... Many of us feel like, 'what can be done?'"

What The City Is Doing

Radest said she takes the problem very seriously and is working on a number of ways to provide help to the homeless population.

Last week, Radest said she had a meeting with the head of Bridges — an organization that makes efforts to end homelessness through volunteer-driven outreach and individual case management focusing on health, housing and independence.

Radest said Bridges has hired a case manager that will be working with Summit Police officers to identify the homeless individuals and try to find the right way to help them.

In addition, Radest said the City will be working with the Housing Authority to get apartment vouchers for these individuals. Radest said these export vouchers will come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and will likely provide people with apartments east of Summit.

Radest said these vouchers are not enough to pay for apartments in Summit itself.

Some residents asked if there is law against loitering in Summit. Radest explained that there is no loitering law in the State of New Jersey, and people are allowed stay in public places as long as they are not creating a disturbance.

"We're working on it," Radest said. "It's not an easy problem to solve because the New Jersey State Supreme Court has held very firmly that a person who is homeless can be in a public space as long as they're not creating a disturbance."

She added that Bridges' approach to helping people involves finding them housing first, and then helping them seek treatment. In years past, Radest said this methodology was flipped.

Police Chief Steven Zagorski said NJ Transit does not have any police officers stationed at the Summit train station. If there are continuous issues at the station, Zagorski said a Summit Police officer will be stationed there.

You can view the entire Summit Council meeting below:

Read more coverage of Tuesday's meeting: Residents Object To Permanent Maple Street Closure At Summit Meeting

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