Ahead of tomorrow's annual point-in-time count of individuals and families who are homeless, various organizations have been preparing to offer services to those in need, so they can turn things in a better direction.

One of them is shore based Haven/Beat The Street.

"We work with many organizations, probably over thirty or forty of them in Ocean County to try and find solutions for people, get them into rehabs and different programs that are available," Director of Operations Paul Hulse said.

Homelessness doesn't discriminate nor does it have a face.

It can be anyone.

"You think to yourself, 'wow, here's somebody that's been successful, has a great career and then goes through a divorce, loses their home and is now homeless'," Hulse said.

He does say that it's usually a challenge to get an exact number of the homeless population at this annual survey or at any other part of the year.

"It's so hard to collect everybody at one time," Hulse said. "That's where the unsuccessful part of it is but that doesn't mean that we don't need to have the survey, it's just unfortunate that we never get that accurate count because it's only one day."

He says for the homeless who come out tomorrow, it'll more than just filling out a survey.

"They can come right to Toms River Community Church, 22 Robbins Street and is going to be open from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm," Hulse said. "There will be some prepared food, social services and a nurse."

Other shelters being opened up across Ocean County through Project Homeless Connect are:

  • Ocean County Hunger Relief, Inc., 21 Germania Station Road, Toms River.
  • New Life Christian Center, 211 East 4th St., Lakewood.
  • The House of Hope, 253 Chestnut St., Toms River.
  • St. Francis Community Center at the Ocean County Southern Service Center, 179 South Main St.
  • Manahawkin, and the Greater Tuckerton Food Pantry, 148 North Green St., Tuckerton.

Ocean County officials add that most of the sites open at 9:00 a.m. with the exception of the Toms River Community Church.

A majority of the other sites will close at 4:00 p.m. with the exception of House of Hope which closes at 3:00 p.m.

Point-in-Time Survey Sites are:

  • Catholic Charities, 200 Monmouth Ave., Lakewood.
  • Visitation Relief Center, Laurelton Square, 1930 Route 88, Brick Township.
  • Ocean County Library, Main Branch, 101 Washington St., Toms River.
  • BEAT Center, 1769 Hooper Ave., Toms River.
  • The Lakewood Community Center, 20 4th St., Lakewood.

The survey sites will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

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