Mayor Ras J. Baraka joined Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr.; NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kris Kolluri; Newark Alliance President & CEO; and NJ TRANSIT Board Member Evan Weiss and other dignitaries to launch “Gateway to Hope” — a set of focused initiatives aimed to reach, stabilize and house residents in need near Newark Penn Station.
Building on the City of Newark’s Path Home program to end homelessness, launched with the late Lieutenant Governor Sheila Y. Oliver, “Gateway to Hope” focuses on Newark Penn Station, and will serve as a model for future improvements at other stations. It supports the City’s vision and strategic plan, and includes additional intensive programming around the station. The collaborative effort will serve as a model for future improvements at other stations. In addition, Newark Penn Station will become the “Home of” Prudential Financial in a sponsorship agreement.
“In Newark, we operate from a core belief that people’s value is not entwined with what they have, where they work or how they live. Their value is inherent in the fact that they are members of our human family,” said Mayor Baraka. “As such, our policy is to embrace our most vulnerable residents with outreach that encourages trust as a foundation for wraparound services that enable stable housing and progress toward a sense of meaningful fulfillment. This important collaboration is another essential step in our quest to end homelessness in Newark. I am proud to stand with these generous partners and extend my heartfelt gratitude.”
“We all have a shared responsibility in New Jersey to ensure our residents have access to the resources and help they need to thrive and live healthy, productive lives,” said NJDOT Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chair Fran O’Connor. “I am proud to join with the Newark Alliance and our partners in a focused effort to reach out to those most in need at Newark Penn Station.”
Newark has achieved worldwide acclaim since the announcement in 2022 of its “Pathway Home” plan of ending chronic homelessness in three years. Despite a nationwide surge in homelessness, and an intense influx locally, Newark has maintained a two-year reduction in unsheltered individuals. By building architecturally radical transitional housing units, upgrading the city’s emergency shelter and re-appropriating and renovating 200 public housing units for transitional housing, Newark has increased its housing capability exponentially. Launching a public texting homeless hotline, a fully-staffed street medicine initiative, and leveraging its partnerships such as Department of Community Affairs to secure additional housing resources, Newark is at the vanguard of innovative, compassionate care for the homeless. The astounding outcomes resulted in an invitation for Mayor Baraka to serve as panelist at a two-day international conference of worldwide mayors and municipal leaders, held in Paris last summer.
“Newark Penn Station is a magnificent gateway to our city and New Jersey,” said Mr. Weiss. “Newark Alliance is dedicated to the ongoing economic revitalization of Newark and focused on the quality of life for those living, working and visiting our downtown, including anyone experiencing homelessness. We are proud to partner with NJ TRANSIT and so many of our members to support effective strategies that link unhoused Newarkers to critical services and ultimately to a place to a call home.”
“NJ TRANSIT is pleased to announce this innovative public-private partnership that delivers support and resources to the most vulnerable in the City of Newark,” said Mr. Kolluri. “Gateway to Hope is a testament to what can be achieved when organizations come together with a shared mission. By connecting those in need with critical social services, medical care, and housing, we are taking meaningful steps to address a complex challenge affecting transit systems across the country.”
“Today’s announcement demonstrates the power of partnerships and the good that can be accomplished when working together. Through our Office of Homelessness Prevention, we’re proud to be able to contribute professional expertise and coalition building to jumpstart the ‘Gateway to Hope’ program at Newark Penn Station,” said New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Jacquelyn A. Suárez. “We’re confident that ‘Gateway to Hope’ will make it much easier for people in need at Newark Penn Station to connect with resources that can meaningfully improve their lives. Without a doubt, this program moves the needle in DCA’s efforts to end homelessness in Newark and all communities in New Jersey.”
“Residents experiencing homelessness generally gravitate toward transportation hubs and facilities to find shelter,” said County Executive DiVincenzo. “I applaud NJ TRANSIT, the Newark Alliance and Prudential coming together to create the Gateway to Hope program. This innovative social services outreach initiative is going a step further to provide housing along with supportive services to help homeless residents get back on their feet.”
“For 150 years, Prudential has proudly called Newark home, with an unwavering commitment to empowering its residents to live better lives, longer,” said Lata Reddy, senior vice president of Inclusive Solutions, Prudential Financial, chair of The Prudential Foundation and Board Chair of Newark Alliance. “Working with partners like NJ TRANSIT and the Newark Alliance, we will ensure our efforts reach those who are unhoused so they can receive the support they need to make Newark the place they call home.”
“Horizon has been proud to call Newark our home since 1932 and to consistently support initiatives and institutions that enhance the quality of life here. Improving the health and well-being of Newark and the communities we serve across New Jersey is elemental to who we are at Horizon,” said Gary D. St. Hilaire, Chairman and CEO, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. “As Newark continues to attract new businesses, world class cultural and sporting events and visitors, Gateway to Hope reflects the commitment we share as leaders of this community to ensure that this rising tide also lifts up our most vulnerable and disadvantaged neighbors.”
“At RWJBarnabas Health, we are committed to expanding access to health care for those who need it most,” said Balpreet Grewal-Virk, Senior Vice President, Community Health, RWJBarnabas Health. “Through our partnership in the ‘Gateway to Hope’ initiative, we are working to connect individuals experiencing homelessness at Newark Penn Station with critical medical care, mental health support, and other essential services. This collaboration is another step forward in our mission to build and sustain a healthier New Jersey, ensuring that all residents – regardless of their circumstances – have the opportunity to achieve better health and stability.”
“Many people who are homeless seek to take shelter in Newark Penn Station and other NJ TRANSIT facilities. By conducting a pro-active outreach to offer services, we are working to help them get on a stronger footing, by aligning them with services that will address their needs and provide a hope for their future,” said Chief of New Jersey Transit Police and Office of Emergency Management Christopher Trucillo.
The Newark Alliance and the City of Newark extended partnerships to include a dedicated, cross-disciplinary medical outreach team to serve people experiencing homelessness at Newark Penn Station. The effort aims to address medical, housing, and other needs to get help to those who need it most.
Specific initiatives include:
- Deploying three-person medical teams consisting of a nurse, social worker, and outreach worker, in collaboration with New Jersey Transit Police and the City of Newark, to assess and provide on-the-spot mental health care and substance abuse disorder treatment and to connect unhoused individuals to housing and other services.
- Supporting Mayor Baraka’s “Path Home” housing program by providing funding for an expansion of wrap-around support services for 200 Newark Housing Authority transitional housing units for chronically homeless Newark residents.
- Deploying 100 HOME tenant-based rental assistance vouchers for persons experiencing homelessness, committed by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs in support of this effort.
- Acquiring, designing and planning an 8,765 square-foot condominium located in Downtown Newark, the City is creating a new state-of-the-art 24/7 drop-in resource center. Scheduled to open in late 2025, the center will provide medical, housing, and workforce services and address immediate needs for unsheltered residents such as showers, laundry and food services, as well as rest lounges and computer stations.
- Launching a “Home of” sponsorship of Newark Penn Station with Prudential Financial, which has been headquartered in Newark since its founding in 1875.
These initiatives are part of NJ TRANSIT’s larger effort to improve costumer experience, which was announced earlier this year. Efforts include increased customer service ambassadors, modernizing the agency’s fleet of buses and trains, new lavender-scented cleaning products and touchscreen kiosks with travel information.