The Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton: Overcoming Crisis

In 1980, Nassau Presbyterian Church and Trinity Episcopal Church of Princeton, New Jersey founded 'Crisis Ministries' to assist low-income people in emergency situations where there are no alternative sources of help. Today, the organization exists as 'The Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton' and is sponsored by 35 Jewish and Christian congregations, individual donors, foundations, corporations, state of New Jersey grants, and an annual fundraiser. In the first five months of 2002 alone, the Crisis Ministry helped:

• 94 families with back rent to prevent evictions.
• 61 families with security deposits ,to stop homelessness.
• 247 families with utility payments to keep the heat and lights on.
• 132 people with prescription medications that they are unable to purchase themselves.
• Over 50 people with varied needs, including transportation to family funerals, medical equipment, and motel stays.

Dealing With Crisis
The Crisis Ministry provides aid to those in short-term financial crisis, focusing on low-income individuals and families who fall through the cracks of the social service system. Benefits reach the working poor, the unemployed, those on disability, and those on public assistance who are not eligible for or who have been denied emergency assistance. The Crisis Ministry offers assistance in four areas:

• Non-perishable food packages. Each month, the Ministry provides over 825 families with a 25-pound bag of non-perishable groceries - enough to feed a family of four for four days. In 2000, they distributed approximately $220,000 worth of food at a cost of only $50,000. The program also refers clients to sources such as food stamps; Women, Infants,and Children (WIC); and other food programs.
• Back rent, security deposit assistance, and utility assistance. In 2000, the Ministry helped 992 families stay in their homes. When a client receives an eviction notice, the Ministry works with the client, the landlord, the court, and other agencies to negotiate a plan to pay off the debt, often contributing up to $500 toward reducing that debt. To prevent foreclosure, the Ministry assists with mortgage payments and provides homeless individuals with up to $500 toward a security deposit. The Ministry helps clients and utility companies negotiate payment plans and provides up to $150 toward overdue bills. When appropriate, arrangements are made for the delivery of home heating oil and the payment of water bills.
• Prescription medications. Each month, the Ministry receives over 30 requests from area hospitals or clinic staff to help people who need prescriptions. They work directly with local pharmacies to arrange for the client to receive necessary blood pressure medication, asthma medication, insulin, or antibiotics, to name but a few. The Crisis Ministry also helps people who are without medical insurance, who are awaiting enrollment in medical plans like Medicaid or Pharmaceutical Assistance for the Aged and Disabled (PAAD), or who are unable to afford the co-payment required under their insurance plans.
• Other emergency assistance. Occasionally, the Crisis Ministry encounters people with special emergency needs, such as a stranded young man who is ill and needs a bus ticket to North Carolina, a battered woman who needs transportation to safety in Pennsylvania, or an evicted family who needs a place to stay for two nights until they can get help.

While the Crisis Ministry itself cannot offer long-term assistance, the organization does offer counseling and referrals to help clients find appropriate solutions to their problems. In addition to providing assistance to the poor, the Crisis Ministry educates the Princeton/Trenton community about the needs of the poor. By creating volunteer opportunities, holding frequent food drives, publishing a quarterly newsletter, and staging annual fundraising events and speaking engagements, the Ministry raises awareness about hunger and homelessness as local problems that require local solutions and active involvement on the part of the community.

Hope for the Future
Although the Crisis Ministry helped 374 families escape homelessness in 2002, due to a lack of resources, two-thirds of the requests for help with security deposits or rent went unmet. According to Mark Howell, Client Services Director and one of three full-time staff members at the Crisis Ministry, "Despite the tremendous growth in the budget for direct aid services in the past 10 years, we do not have enough. We usually run out of our monthly allocation of funds in the first two weeks."

The Ministry's limited funds provide a valuable service to the community. In 2001, the Crisis Ministry offered financial assistance to over 1,300 families including:

• 141 families representing 500 people who are no longer homeless because of security deposit assistance.
• 233 families representing 760 people who avoided homelessness through rent aid. " 534 families - including 800 children and 600 adults - who received assistance for heat, electricity, or water.
• 289 people who were able to purchase prescription medications.
• 150 families who received temporary housing, transportation, and other emergency assistance during the year.

For more information, contact: Mark Howell, Client Services Director, Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton, (609) 396-9355, markh@thecrisisministry.org