Unhoused in New Brunswick

The community partners on the REACH Housing table have prioritized homelessness as a critical issue. Unity Square, a grassroots service organization, shared that they and other grassroots organizations are serving more people experiencing homelessness. They report a need for social, behavioral, and physical health services including addiction services, along with a critical need for shelters, showers, and bathrooms.

Though there are deep networks of care through the Continuum of Care, a federal effort to coordinate care for people experiencing homelessness at the county level, as well as through other organizations and governmental agencies, community leaders report challenges accessing services. It’s unclear what is causing these challenges. This project is designed to better understand the experiences of emergency service providers, such as grassroots organizations that provide emergency food and other services that are a frequent everyday source of support for households experiencing homelessness, and to document the existing service system and mismatches between the supply and demand for emergency services.

The team will conduct approximately 15 interviews with emergency service providers in New Brunswick, facilitate an engaged conversation with these organizations, and organize a public convening to discuss the research results and discuss next steps. Additionally, five to six undergraduate Ralph W. Voorhees Fellows will conduct national research during the Fall semester to identify effective practices to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness. They will present their work to Unity Square at the end of the Fall semester.