Celebrating Our History, Vision and Future

All Through November!

Dear Friends,

With great enthusiasm, we invite you to join us on the Asbury Park Boardwalk for our 5^th annual Walk In Their Shoes, on Sunday, November 2, from 9 am to 11 am. We walk to support the residents and the programs of The SHORE House and National Youth Homelessness Awareness Month.

The roots of youth homelessness are many and complex, and the numbers of unhoused youth rise 28% year-over-year.

We live in unprecedented times. Consider this:

• 1 in 4 youth aging out of foster care will experience homelessness within four years.
• 40% of those evicted and living on the streets are children and teens between the ages of 8 and 18.
• In Monmouth and Ocean Counties, the 2025 Point in Time counted over 1200 homeless individuals, a 70% increase between 2021 and 2025.
• Statewide, 872 persons were between the ages of 18 -24.
• Black and Latino youth are 83% and 33% more likely, respectively, to experience homelessness than their white peers.
• LGBTQ+ youth are 120% more likely to suffer abuse, abandonment, and homelessness.

These aren’t just numbers. These are lives—teens and young adults from our neighborhoods who are slipping through the cracks. At Ocean’s Harbor House, we believe every young person deserves more than survival—they deserve the chance to thrive.

The SHORE House exists to catch them. 22 years ago, The SHORE House was built to provide safety, shelter, and stability and a way forward to young people in crisis. Today, our SHORE House—a 12-bed transitional living program—continues this vital mission. Over a two-year stay, we offer young people not only a safe place to live, but also the tools to heal, learn, grow, and become self-sufficient through education and job readiness. We restore their sense of hope, identity, and future.

How can you support them?

Grab your sneakers and meet us on the Boardwalk on November 2^nd. Become a sponsor and send your team. Donate as a Harbor Light and join us in a continued commitment to program excellence and positive outcomes for our youth populations.

We are proud.

We are hopeful.

And we are just getting started.

We hope you will join us.

Gratefully,

Dawn Samaritano

Donna Carlson

Join us at the beautiful Park Pavilion, upstairs at The Sawmill on the Seaside Park Boardwalk, for a musical, delicious way to support the youth and programs of Ocean's Harbor House's SHORE House! Be there or be square!