Comments on: Homeless Shelter Ordered Closed

By: Daniel Kaplan

Daniel Kaplan — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:39:22 +0000

Per Myles response, It is appropriate to help the down and out that are here. It is inappropriate for an organization to invite in the down and out and then throw them out on the street. The Jersey Shore Rescue Mission will do just that and cause the social services department to provide worse services. That is not right. Please do what you can to stop the appeal. Donate to Stand Up for Asbury.

By: Myles

Myles — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:23:06 +0000

I live on the Westside of AP and welcome the Mission. I am 80 years old and remember the days when we had a Mission on the westside. AP has always embraced the down and out, especially during our Glory Days. Please support the appeal. Our social services department here is not doing their job. So many poor people have been removed from the city. This is not right.

By: Daniel Kaplan

Daniel Kaplan — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 02:24:57 +0000

The Jersey Shore Rescue Mission HARMS the homeless and Asbury Park. If you don’t agree to go through their indoctrination, you are back on the street after a maximum of ten days. Sounds like the homeless are not worse off than before. Then you take into account that the Jersey Shore Rescue Mission is importing homeless to find the ones they can religiously convert. The long-term service-resistant homeless in Asbury Park and the newcomers are then competing for the same services.

The Jersey Shore Rescue Mission is cruel to the homeless and very harmful to the neighborhood. Are ANY of the people who support its presence nearby neighbors? I doubt it. No one identified themselves as neighbors in the immediate vicinity at the Zoning Board hearings. You are not justified accusing a municipality that has been dumped on for decades of crying NIMBY.

By: Michele

Michele — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:26:26 +0000

I am so tired of people saying Not In My back Yard! Where are these people supposed to go? There are no shelters in Ocean County and when they are sent to Atlantic County or Middlesex County we are uprooting them more the they already are. Many of these people may also be suffering from a mental illness and may be able to continue with their theropy if they remain in these shelter, but when they are closed down and they are moved to another county, the theropy ends.
If we kept the selters open, created more (Look at all the property in Marlboro on the old Psych grounds) and then created transitional housing there after, there would be less NIMBY because the homeless would be working their way to stability.
It may also help if we stopped talking about low income housing and actually build some. Stop taking that property and builing a million dollar home that will house four when you can use the million dollars to house 50.

By: Betty

Betty — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 14:33:11 +0000

When has AP EVER taken care of its own???? Leaving a municipal building open overnight so people can sleep on the floor does not count. Later, making homelessness a crime in AP and threatening AP homeless with a fine if they don’t get on that train to NYC does not count either. (Ask ANY police officer, it’s true.) There is no other Soup Kitchen in AP where ANYONE can come in for a meal 365 days a year. There has NEVER been a shelter in AP where a male can come in from the cold and sleep in a bed, not to mention receive assistance in leaving homelessness behind if that what he isready to do. Get over yourselves! Admit there is a homeless problem in AP. If you want to believe you’ve done your fair share, you are living in another universe.

By: stella

stella — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 01:56:05 +0000

I have lived and worked in the City since 1969 and Asbury has always done more than their fair share of helping the less fortunate. People from all over NJ and NY have been sent here with a 1 way ticket and $2 in their pocket. It is time for the State and the County to something to spread the WEALTH. We are a very small town with over 30 churches, numerous soup kitchens, food pantries, etc., while the rest of the County and State stand by and do nothing. It is time for the other towns here do do their fair share. Rev Nunn, do you live in AP? I don’t think so, so how about bringing the mission to where you live? It’s always NIMBY

By: anon_in_AP

anon_in_AP — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:31:52 +0000

good.

i had mixed feeling on this, as we should provide social services, but:

1) its not beneficial to the neighborhood,

2) it does put more burden on the city for services to people from all over jersey, not just AP, and

3) they shouldn’t be required to participate in religious indoctrination in order to get services.