“To find a place to take you if you were homeless was impossible, essentially,” Codey said.

Most shelters in Newark require applicants to be on government assistance, or at least have an official ID.

After having trouble finding shelter, Codey, who is now a state senator, turned to a resource most homeless people don’t have — a personal connection with the Mental Health Association of Essex County.

The connection put him in touch with case worker Ross Croesmann, who places homeless people in shelters and was able to get Codey into the Goodwill Rescue Mission in downtown Newark at about 9 p.m.

The former governor, who filled the office in 2004 and 2005 after Jim McGreevey resigned in disgrace, has championed the cause of the mentally ill for decades, beginning when he was a state senator.

On Monday night, after an hour long makeup session to make him unrecognizable, Codey assumed the role of Jimmy Peters, a mentally ill individual who had just been released from the psychiatric ward of a local hospital.

Croesmann could only get Codey into the shelter for one night, and a telephone survey of other homeless shelters found them even more difficult to get in, according to Codey.

“Sometimes you get in, sometimes you don’t,” said Bob Davison, executive director of the Mental Health Association of Essex County.

Both Davison and Codey said there are more mentally ill out on the street than institutionalized, after recent cutbacks at both state psychiatric hospitals and in the psychiatric wards at community hospitals.

At the Goodwill Rescue Mission, Codey said he was one of about 20 homeless who slept on bedrolls on the floor of the chapel.

“For me it was tough, I sleep on my side so by 3 a.m. my hip was hurting,” Codey said.

Codey, who went undercover as a worker in one state mental hospital and, as governor, slept overnight at another, left later in the morning to return to his life as a state senator.

But he said he will not forget the mentally ill homeless he left behind and will continue to urge the governor and state legislature to find more and better housing for them.

Read Full Article: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/07/10600009-former-new-jersey-governor-goes-undercover-as-homeless-man

“How can this be?” asks Robin Fox, a Bridgewater comedian who will perform in a benefit hosted by the New Jersey Elks Association.

The fundraiser, at 7 p.m. March 10 at the Paramus Elks Lodge, 200 N. St., Route 17, Paramus, will benefit homeless veterans throughout the state.

Fox, who is known for her “middle-age, suburban housewife” comedy, finds humor in almost anything but sees only the tragedy in the high incidence of veteran homelessness.

“It makes no sense that these men and women who have given their energy and their bodies to protect the freedom of American citizens are left to fall through the cracks,” Fox said.

“My father served in World War II, and I have the greatest respect for anyone who has served our country.

“We should be giving them everything we can, we should make every resource available to them when they return from the nightmare of war,” Fox said.

“It’s a disgrace for our country,” said Jim Hall, state chairman of veterans services for the New Jersey Elks Association. “Unlike previous wars, those who have served in our recent war have been doing multiple tours.

“Many of them are young guys with wives and children, and their wives get tired of it. So the young soldier comes home and there is nothing there for him,” Hall said.

“They return and find their house is up for sale, and there is no where to turn,” he said.

For others, making the adjustment to civilian life while dealing with the physical and psychological wounds of war makes it difficult to access the help they need, according to Hall.

Hall said government resources are available, but they are more likely to take the form of grants to organizations that assist veterans, rather than direct services provided by the government.

Operation Chillout, established more than a decade ago by Ray Chimileski, a deacon at St. Luke’s Catholic Church in Long Valley, is one of the organizations that receives support from the New Jersey Elks Veterans Services Program.

Operation Chillout provides homeless veterans in 12 New Jersey counties with backpacks filled with necessities during the winter months and bottled water and baseball caps during the summer.

Hall has been a member of the Elks for 32 years and in June will be sworn in as the new state president.

“The national Elks organization established the first field hospitals in France for American troops on the front lines and they built the first Veterans Hospital in Boston,” Hall said.

While the Elks is committed to wide-ranging community service projects, Hall said his mission is to do even more when he becomes president.

“Each president establishes a motto. Mine will be: We can, we must, we will,” Hall said.

The evening of comedy March 10 is expected to raise $10,000 to help homeless veterans and other veteran programs, said event chairwoman Kelly Mazzocchi of Dunellen, a five-year member of the Elks lodge in Stirling.

Mazzocchi said the $30 admission fee includes entertainment by Fox and two other comedians, John McClellan and Adam Kerr, and light refreshments, hors d’ouvres and desserts.

There also will be a cash bar, a 50/50 raffle and a raffle of items through a tricky tray.

She said that in addition to the comedy benefit, the Elks Association helps veterans in other ways, such as hosting job fairs, health fairs, picnics and barbecues.

The East Central District includes Stirling, Summit, Rahway, Cranford, Mountainside, Springfield/Hillside, Linden, Elizabeth and Union.

Mazzocchi said she learned early on from her parents and grandparents the importance of giving back to the community, and she gets great satisfaction from the charitable works she participates in as a member of the Elks.

“I was really surprised to find out how many homeless veterans we have in New Jersey,” Mazzocchi said.

According to a report issued by the 100,000 Homes Campaign in November, the outlook for homeless veterans is bleak.

“As a group, veterans were 11 percentage points more likely to suffer from at least one condition linked to increased risk of death among the homeless population, which means the men and women who risked their lives defending America may be far more likely to die on its streets.”

Read Original Article: http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20120219/NJNEWS/302200007/Comedy-takes-serious-problem-Vet-homelessness?odyssey=nav|head

If you have not heard of him by now, you may want to watch the following video(s).

In this video Williams reacts to his mother’s words:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/40946424#40946424

Operation Chillout, founded by St. Luke Deacon Ray Chimileski, is an organization that provides backpacks filled with toiletries and other necessities to help homeless men and women through harsh winters.

More than 20 volunteers spent their time at St. Luke Parish on Thursday, Dec. 16 to help fill the backpacks and prepare them for distribution.

Click here to view gallery

What began as a one time gesture of good will has grown into an organization that has helped thousands of homeless in New Jersey over the last 10 years by offering them a backpack filled with some of the necessities for daily life that include toothpaste, shampoo, warm gloves, a hat, and other items that most take for granted.

More than 600 of these backpacks will be distributed by Operation Chillout beginning Dec. 17 throughout nine counties in New Jersey which include: Morris, Warren, Somerset, Hunterdon, Bergen, Newark, Union, Passaic and Sussex.

Operation Chillout, established by Long Valley resident Deacon Ray Chimileski of St. Luke’s Church, said there are currently an estimated 28,000 to 35,000 homeless in New Jersey, 7,500 of them are veterans.

It was an article in the Star Ledger that prompted Chimileski late in 2000 to seek out three homeless veterans who were living under a railroad tressle in Dover. When he and his two friends located the men and began talking to them, the men told them what they needed most.

“One man said, what I could really use is a knapsack. I had one in the army and it was great. I had everything I needed and it was easy to carry around,” said Chimileski. So he and his friends returned on Dec. 21, 2000 with three backpacks filled to the brim with useful items.

Chimileski said from that point on people approached him who wanted to help out. And so Operation Chillout was born.

“For me it was simple, one person, one gift,” said Chimileski.

“For many of us, we work for a living and we take care of our own. Everyone wants to help, but it’s easy for people to get overwhelmed when they hear the numbers and the level of need. So I wanted to make it easy for each person to give something,” said Chimileski.

He said that many people have said to him that they don’t like giving money because they don’t know how it is being used–they would rather fill a backpack with items. And he said many participate as a family.

“And it’s not like people just throw items into the backpack, I’ve heard people tell me that their family would get into debates over what color cap or gloves to include,” said Chimileski.

“It becomes a very personal experience for those who participate. Adults and children really enjoy the process,” he said.

Operation Chillout receives help from seven organizations including the Youth Ministry led by Wayne Shurts at the Zion Lutheran Church in Long Valley.

While Operation Chillout runs throughout the year, the major drive for backpacks is in November and early December. Then they are distributed beginning mid-December through January.

During the summer months, Operation Chillout assists the homeless in other ways. Last summer the organization distributed 28,000 bottles of water throughout the nine counties.

With the current economic downturn, there is a growing number of homeless. “We are seeing younger Veterans than we’ve ever seen who are homeless–men in their early 20′s who have lost jobs, or are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Chimileski.

Operation Chillout is in the process of becoming a non-profit organization recognized by the state and the federal government so that it will be able to apply for grants and serve more homeless in the state.

“Our motto is–no boundaries, no borders–which is our logo. Which means we are committed to helping a homeless person no matter where they may be,” said Chimileski.

Operation Chillout is accepting donations of backpacks filled with goods until Dec. 16. They can be dropped off at the office of St. Luke’s Church, 265 West Mill Road. The Church’s office number is 908-876-3515. For more information about the organization and what to include in the backpacks, visit: www.operationchillout.org.

Chimileski said most of the backpacks will be distributed on December 21, which is the anniversary of the first time he and his friends offered backpacks to the homeless men in Dover.

Chimileski said, “Interestingly enough, December 21 is the Winter Solstice. It’s the longest day of darkness in the Northern Hemisphere. But each day afterward the days become brighter. The date has served as a metaphor for what we’re trying to do.”

Source

http://longvalley.patch.com/articles/operation-chillout-brings-help-to-homeless-across-northern-new-jersey

The search, done by a host of social services agencies and volunteers, explored the best-known havens and hangouts for the homeless, trying to determine the extent of the situation in the county, said Morris County Human Services Director Mary Jo Buchanan.

“With the economic downturn, we expected to see an increase, and we sure did,’’ said Buchanan, who said the count is important in getting state and federal assistance to help homeless people.

She also said efforts are made to try and connect the homeless into the county’s social services safety net. There were 350 homeless people counted in Morris County in January 2008.

Source

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/number_of_homeless_doubles_in.html

“When you go to NY city you see people on the streets. You know they’re homeless. In Phillipsburg and Hackettstown, you don’t see them.” said Anna Hockenbury of United Way

Help with coats, flu shots, Haircuts, and most importantly housing.

“We’re seeing a lot of folks who have run out of their unemployment benefits, people who qualify for food stamps who never got aid before. ” said Candy Brewster of Warren County Children’s Services.

“There where probably 20 or 25 people waiting at the door today to receive the services.” said Hockenbury.

Some are homeless and some are one circumstance away. That’s why they’re happy to see their Warren County community come to their aid

“They have the housing table, the dental, free cancer screening, flu shots.” said April Henderson

“Visitors arrive and fill out a sheet that lists what services they may need to help them out.” said Brewster.

Volunteers use the worksheets to help them find the things in the room that will bring stability to their lives. Then the information is used for the Census.

“It’s very important that we count those people and let the government know what the real situation is on the streets so we can get funding to help develop programs.” said Brewster.

Today many of the programs are churches, food banks and other non profits. April Henderson was able to get help with housing, food, and clothes.

“I really appreciate it. I’m not used to getting help. But you gotta do what you gotta do, you know?” said Henderson.

Video

Source

http://www.wfmz.com/news/22359511/detail.html

Temperatures were in the 40s, and the leaden sky threatened rain. But for these people, it was well worth the wait.

Mostly veterans of the Vietnam War, some of them toughened by combat and an unreceptive public upon their return from war, it was an opportunity to receive government services in preparation for the long, cold winter ahead. But it was also a chance to see friends, receive help to get a job, undergo medical tests and replace a lost identification card.

Inside, U.S. Army and Air Force medics checked their blood pressure. Workers with the Department of Veterans Affairs helped them sign up for benefits. As they left, the veterans were handed military surplus; green camouflage rain gear, tan and black combat boots, and sleeping bags.

“This is a respite from their lives on the street,” said David Cathcart, president of the Northern New Jersey Stand Down Committee, which represents non-profit organizations, the City of Newark and state and federal departments of veterans affairs.

The annual Stand Down, one of two in New Jersey and 157 in the country, was started by Vietnam veterans in 1988 in San Diego to provide vital services to veterans. The name of the effort refers to an order soldiers receive to temporarily cease combat operations or observe a period of rest and recovery.

According to a March 2009 Department of Veterans Affairs report, on any given night there are approximately 131,000 veterans who are homeless across the country.

In New Jersey, the estimates of veteran homelessness range from 6,000 to 7,000, according to Gary Englert, the director of veterans services for the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

This includes veterans living on the streets or shelters, but also those who lack a permanent residence and find themselves bouncing from the home of one family member or friend to another, he said.

Officials said 334 veterans were served yesterday, some of whom were bused in from Morristown, Paterson and Jersey City.

National Guard troops from the 50th Brigade, including many recently returned from service in Iraq, volunteered their services, ushering the men and some women through a series of stations in the large gymnasium.

“You want a haircut today?” said Pvt. Michael Pereira, 19, of West New York, to a middle-aged man named Shelby. A cloud of talcum powder surrounded the groomed head of an older man in one of the two barber chairs.

Dangerously high blood pressure, discovered by Air National Guard medics, sent Dennis Settle, 60, of Jersey City into an ambulance. Settle was one of five veterans who were sent to hospitals with symptoms ranging from high blood pressure to adverse reactions to medication.

Settle, a Marine Corps veteran, saw heavy combat in the jungles of Vietnam.

“Sometimes I see old faces,” Settle said of his visits to the Stand Down. “It’s not just because I’m homeless, but because I associate with these guys,” said Settle.

Settle is scheduled to receive treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in East Orange.

Officials from the VA are now trying their best to ensure that soldiers from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan avoid homelessness.

“If we can be effective with our preventative services and begin to identify veterans who might be at risk, we might have a profound impact on preventing those disastrous outcomes,” said John Kuhn, the national coordinator of the CHALENG program of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which coordinates VA programs with community and state homeless programs.

While the rates of homelessness among veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are not yet significant, Kuhn said it takes between five and 10 years before the mix of mental, family and economic conditions turn a veteran to the streets.

“The Vietnam veteran generation taught us to be prepared,” he said. “Time will tell.”

Source

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/stand_down_event_in_newark_ben.html

WASHINGTON TWP. – The gym at St. Luke’s Parish in Long Valley is little more than a full-sized basketball court, not a particularly memorable or impressive space.

But it will play a crucial role in Operation Chillout, a program to ensure that area homeless people have enough bottled water during the coming, hot summer months.

Deacon Ray Chimileski, Oblate of Saint Benedict and Operation Chillout’s national coordinator, plans to help fill the gym with cases of water bottles.

Chimileski said he plans to develop a “wall of water,” with four foot high cases of water bottles surrounding the gymnasium’s perimeter.

The effort to collect water bottles continues through the end of the month and will culminate with deliveries to homeless people in six counties during the July 6 week. The group also accepts cash donations that are used to buy more items for homeless people.

Operation Chillout is an interfaith program dedicated to helping the homeless, and it places special emphasis on providing homeless veterans with aid.

“It started in December of the year 2000,” Chimileski said. “It started as an outreach for homeless veterans, and now its mission is to provide help for those who fall through the cracks.”

Operation Chillout began with Chimileski and three other volunteers.

“We started out at Route 46 under the trestle in Dover. Three Vietnam era veterans were living there,” Chimileski said.

The program includes two seasonal projects and periodic, “street sweeps.”

“In the winter, we collect winter clothing, thermals, toiletries, and shaving and hand cream that we distribute in backpacks,” said Chimileski, “In the summer, we collect bottled water.”

Operation Chillout also collects T-shirts and baseball caps to give to the homeless as part of the summer project.

Finding Homeless

Street sweeps are conducted throughout the year and involve identifying and providing aid to homeless populations.

Chimileski said street-sweeps are conducted in urban areas and may be prompted b y a news story about homeless people. Several police officers are congregants at St. Luke’s and help Chimileski to identify homeless populations.

“They tell us who the local police are. We call the police unit, and then they tell us where it (homeless population) is,” Chimileski said.

He said police welcome the aid of Operation Chillout because they sometimes do not have the resources to deal with homeless populations.

Operation Chillout reaches out to the homeless in many locations. According to Chimileski, the program caters to 60 homeless in Dover who are served at a soup kitchen in Trinity Lutheran Church.

Operation Chillout also visits drop-in centers, service centers, and other soup kitchens.

About 50 percent of the locations that Operation Chillout serves are transient sites.

“Half of the people we meet on the street,” Chimileski said

He said some locations include the banks of the Passaic River in Paterson and a tent city in Hackensack. Operation Chillout caters to all ages, ranging from teenagers to those over 70, he said.

Chimileski said he decided to collect water bottles after tragedy struck. One of the men who lived under the Route 80 overpass, he said, suffered frostbite and died during the following summer.

“Homeless advocacy groups that were checking up on the area didn’t see him. They noticed he wasn’t coming to his meals, and went looking for him,” Chimileski said. “They found him and took him to a doctor. The doctors said it was so bad that they would have to amputate all his toes and fingers. By this point, it was summer.”

Chimileski said the man had no access to water and that he died from an infection and an adverse reaction to antibiotics even before the surgery to remove his toes.

“If he had water he wouldn’t have gone into heat exhaustion due to being at the jeopardy of the hot weather,” Chimileski said. “Also, you need a lot of water to flush out toxins. Without the water, the antibiotics stayed in his system.”

The homeless may lack reliable access to running water for multiple reasons, he said, adding some homeless people do not live in a shelter because of emotional, behavioral, or psychological issues.

As the hot weather returns, Chimileski said he hopes Operation Chillout can provide temporary relief to those without regular access to running water. He plans to deliver about 12,000 bottles in a period of a week, right after the July fourth weekend…

Volunteers will distribute the water bottles and supplies.

Operation Chillout also offers a summer, veteran outreach program, providing home-cooked meals for veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at the U.S. Veterans Hospital in Lyons.

Operation Chillout volunteers work closely with the area’s interfaith network that also includes St. Lawrence Church in Chester, St. Virgil Church in Morris Plains, St. Monica Church in Sussex, St. Jude Church in Budd Lake, and Zion Lutheran Church in Long Valley.

Operation Chillout has come a long way from its early days.

“We started out of the back of the trunk of a Subaru station wagon,” Chimileski said.

He said Operation Chillout is in the process of applying for not-for-profit status to open the way for grants and other services.

Source

http://newjerseyhills.com/observer-tribune/news/article_979c0ea8-75a3-5afb-94eb-7287c9152884.html