HACKENSACK — More than 160 people in need visited the Bergen County Housing, Health and Human Services Center on Wednesday for haircuts, massages and manicures, as well as assistance finding housing, jobs and health care.
The outreach is part of the county’s fourth annual Project Homeless Connect, which also involves taking a census of the county’s homeless. The census is conducted by each county throughout the state during the last week in January.
Julia Orlando, the director of the human services center, said that providing haircuts and massages is a way to attract people in need who have not previously visited the center, which opened at 120 River St. in Hackensack in October.
“We’re seeing some new faces,” Orlando said. “People are really making use of the services today, and it’s not just cosmetic services.”
The center offers medical and mental health screenings, clothing and counseling to help find employment and permanent housing. People who live at the shelter and who use its services felt more comfortable asking questions about other services such as HIV testing and mental health screenings on Wednesday, Orlando said.
“People are very friendly today. It’s an open environment,” she said. “There’s just a lot of hope.”
Stephen Selover, who’s 56 and a resident at the shelter, said he now has reason to hope after a lifetime of hardship. When he was 5-years-old, a state institution took him in because his mother had been putting cigarettes out on his arms, he said. Since then, he has been in and out of state institutions and since 2006 has been living on the streets.
He is now staying at the human services center and is in the process of signing up for classes and finding permanent housing. When that happens, he said he’d like to volunteer at the center.
“I didn’t get my hair cut today,” he said. “I’m giving it to Locks of Love for cancer babies.”
Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney said that since the center opened, it has helped four dozen people to find permanent residences.
He noted that last January, the county determined that 1,400 people within its borders are homeless.
“Thirty four percent of them are children,” he added.
E-mail: gartland@northjersey.com
HACKENSACK — More than 160 people in need visited the Bergen County Housing, Health and Human Services Center on Wednesday for haircuts, massages and manicures, as well as assistance finding housing, jobs and health care.
The outreach is part of the county’s fourth annual Project Homeless Connect, which also involves taking a census of the county’s homeless. The census is conducted by each county throughout the state during the last week in January.
Julia Orlando, the director of the human services center, said that providing haircuts and massages is a way to attract people in need who have not previously visited the center, which opened at 120 River St. in Hackensack in October.
“We’re seeing some new faces,” Orlando said. “People are really making use of the services today, and it’s not just cosmetic services.”
The center offers medical and mental health screenings, clothing and counseling to help find employment and permanent housing. People who live at the shelter and who use its services felt more comfortable asking questions about other services such as HIV testing and mental health screenings on Wednesday, Orlando said.
“People are very friendly today. It’s an open environment,” she said. “There’s just a lot of hope.”
Stephen Selover, who’s 56 and a resident at the shelter, said he now has reason to hope after a lifetime of hardship. When he was 5-years-old, a state institution took him in because his mother had been putting cigarettes out on his arms, he said. Since then, he has been in and out of state institutions and since 2006 has been living on the streets.
He is now staying at the human services center and is in the process of signing up for classes and finding permanent housing. When that happens, he said he’d like to volunteer at the center.
“I didn’t get my hair cut today,” he said. “I’m giving it to Locks of Love for cancer babies.”
Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney said that since the center opened, it has helped four dozen people to find permanent residences.
He noted that last January, the county determined that 1,400 people within its borders are homeless.
“Thirty four percent of them are children,” he added.
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