Ocean County OKs Homeless Code Blue Center In Toms River

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Ocean County Board of Commissioners has approved a plan for the 2024-25 Code Blue season that will use a county-owned building in Toms River to provide overnight shelter.

The approval, which comes two weeks before Code Blue season begins Nov. 1, was finalized after weeks of controversy over the status of the Code Blue program that had been operating at Riverwood Park in Toms River.

Code Blue is activated under a state law that requires counties to provide overnight warming shelters for the homeless when outside temperatures drop below 32 degrees or when the wind chill is predicted by the National Weather Service to be zero degrees or lower for at least two hours. Code Blue is in effect from Nov. 1 through March 31, with the greatest risk from December to February.

Ocean County is the only one in New Jersey that does not have a county-run transitional housing program operating year-round.

The Code Blue plan approved at the Oct. 16 Board of Commissioners meeting lists five sites that will be overnight warming shelters. Included is the county's property at 1959 Route 9 in Toms River, which hosts the county's career center and transportation services, including Ocean Ride. The program at the transportation services building will be operated by Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey, according to the plan.

The county expects 165 beds to be available in overnight warming centers, under the 2024-25 Code Blue plan. County officials said a "substantial number" of those beds will be housed at the county's property.

The county's approval of its plan comes amid the controversy over the Code Blue program operated at Riverwood Park by Just Believe. In August, Toms River officials changed the locks on the center, where Just Believe had been holding meetings during the months when Code Blue was not in operation.

The dispute heated up at the Aug. 28 Toms River Township Council meeting and in the days that followed, with Mayor Daniel Rodrick and township officials accusing Just Believe and its CEO, Paul Hulse, of using the center out of season to house homeless and of importing people into the county from around the state.

Hulse, meanwhile, shared an audio recording of a meeting between him, Rodrick, and other officials including Anthony Merlino, who was still the assistant township attorney, discussing the homelessness situation in Toms River and what could be done to remove people from an encampment in the woods.

During the meeting, Rodrick twice tells Hulse he can keep using the facility, telling Hulse the town will not be checking on them.

Rodrick, in follow-ups, insisted Just Believe was bringing homeless people to Ocean County to take advantage of Toms River's Code Blue program.

According to the results of the 2024 New Jersey Point-In-Time homeless count, released this week by Monarch Housing Associates, which has been conducting the counts for the state since 2014, there were 556 people from 350 households who were homeless on Jan. 23. Of them 6 percent reported that their last permanent address prior to becoming homeless was outside of Ocean County.

That was a decrease from 2023, where 14 percent of the 434 people from 308 households reported their last permanent address had been from outside Ocean County.

Rodrick has said he wants to use part of the township's $9 million affordable housing trust fund to place homeless people living in the woods into housing.

Rodrick also has threatened to sue Ocean County if it opens a warming center in Toms River, according to an Asbury Park Press report, saying Toms River should not be faced with hosting the county's homeless.

Toms River is the county seat, and as such is a central location for its social services offices for programs to help residents in need.

"Simply put, the Code Blue program, while regulated by the state, is a partnership of this Board, our Human Services Department, the Office of Emergency Management, a host of dedicated providers and volunteers all working together to take care of our most vulnerable residents during the winter months, " said Barbara Jo Crea, director of the board of commissioners.

Crea said by using a county-owned and maintained facility that is close to important services and transportation, the board was guaranteeing it would have enough beds, in a secure location and will provide the homeless with the ability to access important services with the emphasis of putting them on the road to self-sufficiency.

Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey, which the county chose to operate the Code Blue program, was incorporated in 1984 and has a long history of providing care and services to the homeless, county officials said.

"They are a peer-focused organization employing people that have experienced the hardships of being homeless and having limited access to services," Crea said. "It’s very beneficial to have them on board for this year’s program."

Funding for Code Blue comes from a $225,000 appropriation from the Board of Commissioners, $130,000 from the New Jersey Division of Family Development and $35,815 from the county’s Homelessness Trust Fund. It's the first allocation to Code Blue from the county's homelessness trust fund, which was launched in 2023. It is funded with a $5 surcharge on documents filed with the county.

"I am appreciative of the support of this board and the hard work of everyone that has had a significant role in bringing us here," Crea said. "I want to thank Tracy Maksel, Director of Human Services, and her staff for their diligence and eye for detail in developing this Code Blue plan."

Crea also thanked the Ending Homelessness Group for the work it has done as the Code Blue Logistics Coordinator for the past several years and as they coordinate this coming season’s services.

"Working together is how we make a difference for our residents," Crea said. "This program provides more than just warming centers. It provides help and hope to our most vulnerable residents."