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AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 2, ADMINISTRATION, CHAPTER 2.2, OFFICE OF THE MAYOR AND AGENCIES, ARTICLE 5, BOARDS, COMMISSION AND AGENCIES OF THE REVISED GENERAL ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, 2000, AS AMENDED AND SUPPLEMENTED, BY ADDING A NEW SECTION 103, CREATING THE OFFICE OF HOMELESS SERVICES TO PROVIDE VIABLE OPTIONS FOR PERSONS AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS, WHO ARE HOMELESS, AND MINIMIZE THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS AND STIGMAS ASSOCIATED WITH HOMELESSNESS, AND TO END HOMELESSNESS IN THE CITY OF NEWARK.
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WHEREAS, homelessness results from a variety of factors, including accumulated adverse social and economic conditions; and
WHEREAS, the National Alliance to End Homelessness lists the leading causes of homelessness as: lack of affordable housing options, which leads to people facing eviction, instability and ultimately homelessness; and
WHEREAS, lack of income leads individuals and families to make difficult decisions about the necessities that they will be forced to live without and forcing the inseparable choice between health and homelessness; and
WHEREAS, racial disparities whereby Black, Brown and Indigenous persons make up a disproportionate share of the homeless population with the most striking disparity among African Americans who, nationally, account for 39% of people experiencing homelessness; and
WHEREAS, according to the 2021 Point-in-Time Count, on January 26, 2021, the City of Newark alone made up the largest percentage of the total number of homeless persons in Essex County at 85.9% (Source: NJ Counts 2021: Essex County Point-in-Time Count of the Homeless January 26, 2021); and
WHEREAS, the issue of homelessness is compounded as the City of Newark is facing significant challenges in the areas of medical and mental, health, illegal substance use and abuse, and the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, an increasing number of families have been and w...
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