Somerset Home for Temporarily Displaced Children
Jeffrey Fetzko, ACSW, LSW, CFRE
Vol. 8, No. 3, February 4, 2010
The Executive Director's News is published every two weeks, and is specifically written for the employees, board of trustees and friends of the Somerset Home.
This issue and past issues are available on our web site at http://www.somersethome.org/main/pages/employee_newsletter.htm.
Somerset Home Staff Visit Congressional Representatives
Pictured above Kristin Savadge, Natalee Brockington, Anne Bradley Sosis, Jeffrey Fetzko and Marshall Christie on Capitol Hill
If it's freezing cold weather, it must be time for our winter trip to Washington. Each winter for the past twenty five years we have made the trip to visit all of our congressional representatives and speak to them about the work we do with runaway, homeless and abused youth.
Somerset Home's founding board of trustees in our original charter stated that in addition to providing direct services to children we should also regularly present our findings to elected officials. With everything going on in the world including economic crisis, Haiti and national security, there is much to consume the attention of our congressional representatives.
Our goal for each visit is to report on what is happening with these youth in New Jersey and the nation and discuss how certain laws and policies affect our work. For the past few years we have continued to focus on the issues confronting older youth who are aging out of the child welfare system and their need for housing.
SOMERSET COUNTY FREEHOLDERS CREATE HOMELESS TRUST FUND
Somerset County's Homeless Trust Fund Resolution was sponsored by Freeholder Patricia Walsh
Somerset County Freeholders unanimously approved the Homeless Trust Fund for Somerset County last week. The Homeless Trust Fund Act allows counties to create and fund their own programs to end homelessness. Five other counties have established a trust fund: Passaic, Union, Middlesex, Bergen and Hudson.
The Trust Fund will provide some of the additional funds necessary to move homeless or formerly homeless individuals toward the goal of permanent affordable housing and self-sufficiency. A county is allowed to collect the small sum of $3 for each document that must be filed by law with the county. Somerset's Trust Fund is expected to generate approximately $250,000 each year.
The resolution included two stipulations. First, the Trust Fund Task Force must report to the Board of Chosen Freeholders every six months. In addition, the resolution has a three year sunset provision. Freeholder Director Jack M. Ciattarelli expressed confidence that by “working together the freeholders and the community can make the Trust Fund work, and it will be renewed in three years.”
Somerset Home worked with a number of other advocacy organizations to make this new funding source a reality, and we hope to see some of these funds go to reducing homelessness among older youth as they age out of the child serving system.
Bridge House Permanent Housing Project Gets $400,000 in Federal Support
Anne Bradley Sosis, Rep. Rush Holt and Jeffrey Fetzko in his Washington office
Rep. Rush Holt sponsored a proposal for $400,000 in start-up funding for our Bridge House permanent housing program. These new funds were approved last month as a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. We are very appreciative of the efforts of Congressman Holt and look forward to opening this new program.
Brahma House Solar Project Awarded
DPR Electric, Inc. of Bound Brook, NJ has been awarded the solar panel project for Brahma House for $79,990. The solar panels are expected to save us $100,000 in energy costs and bring in more than $100,000 from solar certificates over 15 years. In addition, we are eligible for an immediate $15,000 rebate. This project was funded in its entirety by a grant from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) and we expect the project will be completed within two months.
The Brahma House solar project helps us reduce our carbon footprint and there are economic features that reduce energy costs and generate income which help strengthen our organization. We hope to install similar solar panels at Passages and My Place in the near future.
My Place Construction Update
Where the garage once was, new rooms are beginning to take shape. The subfloor is complete, the walls of new bathroom, laundry room and utility closet are framed, and the new doors and windows have been ordered.
This project continues to move at a very fast pace and we look forward to our grand reopening in the early Spring.
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As always, thank you all for your continued hard work on behalf of our youth.
