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In this Week's Edition
News
Advocating for the AHTF in New Jersey
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2025 Out of Reach Report
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Tools for Addressing the True Cost
of Housing in a Changing Climate
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Advocate for Federal
Medicaid & Housing Funding
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Redeveloping New Jersey Recommendations & Housing Solutions for an Aging Population
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Three Ways to Show Up for Disability Justice
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Passaic NJ Tenants Push
Rent Cap Reduction on November Ballot
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Finger Printing and
Medicaid MCO Credentialing
Survey Due July 17th
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Climate Risks are Exacerbating
a Challenging Housing Market
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Opportunity Zones Reimagined
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Homeless Hoarders, a Hidden Crisis
Resources & Events
SHA Member Event
Identifying Impact of Housing
& Services with LEO
July 22, 2025
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Statewide Family Networking Session
for People who are Self-Directing Services
July 22, 2025
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SHA Member Events
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SHA Member Event
Identifying Impact of
Housing & Services with LEO
July 22
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SHA Member Meeting
August 6 | Virtual
All SHA Members
are welcome.
Not yet a member?
Learn more here.
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Developers Meeting
September 8 | Virtual
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Save the Date
27th Annual Supportive Housing Conference
November 14, 2025
The Palace at Somerset Park, Somerset NJ
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Community Events
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2025 Governor's Conference on Housing & Economic Development
September 16-17, 2025
Click here to register.
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NJ Virtual Opioid Summit
September 17, 2025
Click here to register
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The Boggs Center
Facing the Future 2025
Oct 10 | New Brunswick
Registration Open
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Save the Dates
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NJ Suicide Prevention Conference
September 10, 2025
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Monarch's Housing as a Human Right Conference
September 26, 2025
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HCDNNJ Conference
Under One Roof
October 24, 2025
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Jewish Family Service of Atlantic & Cape May Counties introduced its newest initiative, Housing Supports Program, in collaboration with Managed Care Organizations. The program is designed to help New Jersey FamilyCare members who are experiencing or at-risk of homelessness connect with resources needed to maintain stable housing. JFS is one of 14 SHA member organizations to receive a Housing Supports Provider Readiness Program grant from the State of NJ
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SHA Welcomes New &
Returning Members in 2025
| | 1 Day Left for Workshop Proposals | | Nominate Housing Excellence Today! | | SHA Conference Sponsor, Ad, and Exhibit Opportunities | | |
SHA returns to The Palace for our 27th annual conference
and you'll find familiar and popular features including:
- A Spacious and Engaging Conference Venue
- Keynote Address, Excellent Presenters, & Insightful Workshops
- Networking and Sponsor Opportunities Throughout the Day
- Reach a Wide Audience in the Supportive Housing Community
Share a shout out or boost your brand to 350+ attendees with these great opportunities!
Click here for Sponsor, Ad, and Exhibitor Information.
With gratitude, SHA recognizes our 2025 Conference sponsors and all this year's supporters!
| | Advocating for the AHTF in New Jersey | | |
Last month, state leaders diverted millions from New Jersey's Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF)—a critical resource meant to build homes for working families, seniors, veterans, and people with special needs. Without action, hundreds of affordable home developments will be stalled or canceled in communities across the state, including projects that AHA was planning in our communities. Please join advocacy efforts led by the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ (the Network)
Why This Matters: The AHTF has been essential for creating affordable housing opportunities across New Jersey. When these funds are diverted, it directly impacts our ability to serve vulnerable populations in our communities.
How You Can Make Your Voice Heard: The Network encourages you to contact your elected officials to share your thoughts on the importance of affordable housing funding. Click here to easily reach out to the Governor and your legislators. Click here to have your organization endorse this letter urging Gov. Murphy & Legislative Leaders fix the funding. The deadline to sign this letter is 12 noon on Fri, July 18.
Spread Awareness: Please share this information with your networks—staff, friends, family, clients, board members, and neighbors. Public awareness about housing policy helps ensure our communities' needs are represented in government decisions.
| | NLIHC released Out of Reach 2025: The High Cost of Housing. This new report highlights the significant gap between wages and the income necessary to afford housing. In 2025, the national Housing Wage is $33.63 per hour for a modest two-bedroom rental home and $28.17 for a modest one-bedroom. This year’s report demonstrates that the wages needed to rent a modest home far exceed not just the federal minimum wage but also the median wages of workers in many of the most common occupations, such as home health aides, food service workers, and administrative assistants. New Jersey, ranking #7 highest housing wage, would require an hourly wage of nearly $40 for an affordable two-bedroom rental. Data for New Jersey in this report is part of a collaboration with SHA member, Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey. | | |
Tools for Addressing the True Cost
of Housing in a Changing Climate
| | The National Housing Crisis Task Force recently released its State and Local Housing Action Plan, a guidebook that state and local leaders can use to expand affordable housing solutions in their communities without overreliance on federal support. In the construction category, the guide highlights a set of solutions to address housing damage and property insurance challenges exacerbated by the increased severity and strength of extreme weather events. The Housing Action Plan recommends that state and localities require developers to build to modern building and energy codes; exceed code through programs emphasizing efficiency, health, and resilience, such as Enterprise Green Communities by SHA member Enterprise Community Partners. | | Advocate for Federal Medicaid & Housing Funding | | |
Reach out and tell Washington
"Fund Housing and Health Today!"
Use this call-in line to reach your Senator & member of Congress:
866-426-2631
| | The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations released on July 13 their draft fiscal year (FY) 2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) spending bill, which provides annual funding for the vital U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs and services people and communities rely on for affordable, accessible housing, rental assistance, homelessness services, and community development programs. The proposal would fund HUD at $67.8 billion, a decrease of $939 million provided for HUD programs in FY25. For details, see NLIHC’s complete analysis and updated budget chart. Advocates can contact their lawmakers TODAY and urge them to expand federal investments in the vital resources that help millions of people find and maintain safe, stable homes. | | Recently, HUD sent out a communication to CoCs and recipients of CoC funding indicating that it intends to administer a new competition for FY2025 CoC Program funding. Retracting their prior commitment in the middle of an established funding cycle would create an undue burden on CoCs and the programs that serve people experiencing homelessness in their communities. Help the National Alliance to End Homelessness advocate against the retraction of funding from HUD for the 2025 CoC Program Year. | | |
Redeveloping New Jersey Recommendations and
Housing Solutions for an Aging Population
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New Jersey Future provides the following outline to help plan for redevelopment around New Jersey and how to balance housing needs with other considerations. Some of the recommendations include:
- Rethink Housing: Building Great Homes and Neighborhoods
- Expand Transportation Choice: Making it Easier, Cheaper, Safer and Healthier to Get Around
- Invest in Water Infrastructure: Building the Foundation for Sustainable Growth
- Plan Smarter: Saving Money and Using Our Limited Supply of Land Wisely
- Adapt to Natural Hazards: Protecting People While Using Taxpayer Dollars Sensibly
- Elevate Health: Upgrading Communities to Improve Health Outcomes
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New Jersey Future's new report, 2025 Snapshot: The Mismatch Between an Aging Population and the Homes and Neighborhoods They Need, explores how these two converging trends should attract the concern of policymakers.
The report uses data to:
- Document the aging of the population
- Illustrate the current state of housing supply and variety in New Jersey
- Show how the lack of housing options affects affordability, particularly for renters.
- Highlights pedestrian-friendliness as a key component of aging-friendly housing
| | Three Ways to Show Up for Disability Justice | | |
The challenges to health equity right now are fierce and daunting. As the 60th anniversary of Medicaid—the country’s largest health insurance program serving more than 70 million people—approaches, Congress is pursuing deep cuts to the program that threaten the health and autonomy of millions, including people with disabilities. At the same time, attacks on reproductive rights and health are compounding barriers to care for those already navigating multiple forms of discrimination. Here are three ways our communities can advocate for disability justice.
- Demand better data to drive solutions.
- Policies shouldn’t be a puzzle. Use tools that make them accessible.
- Remove digital barriers—if it’s not accessible, it’s not inclusive.
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Passaic NJ Tenants Push
Rent Cap Reduction on November Ballot
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On June 17, members of Make the Road New Jersey submitted a petition with more than 500 signatures to place a rent stabilization referendum on the November ballot in Passaic. The initiative would lower the city's current rent increase cap from 6% to 3%. Passaic is one of New Jersey’s most rent-heavy cities, with 73% of units rented and 81% of renter households cost-burdened. Corporate landlords have increasingly acquired more properties, particularly in Passaic’s Black and Brown neighborhoods, while simultaneously filing evictions at higher rates than smaller landlords, typically for nonpayment of rent. Now the city is facing a deepening eviction crisis, with filings rising from 2,652 in 2021 to 5,168 in 2022 and 6,745 in 2024. If approved, the measure would help slow displacement and predatory speculation in the city.
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Finger Printing and Medicaid MCO Credentialing
Survey Due July 17th
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Several prospective providers in the New Jersey Family Care Housing Supports Program have expressed difficulty getting their required staff fingerprinted to comply with MCO credentialing. SHA member Camden Coalition is working with the state Medicaid agency, Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (DMAHS), to resolve these difficulties. If your organization has had challenges getting staff fingerprinted, or if you’ve been successful and are willing to share your experience, please take 3 minutes to complete this survey by Thursday, July 17.
Upcoming training session with the Medicaid MCOs on authorization of services
July 23; 1-2:30 pm ET | Register at this link to participate on July 23
The primary goal of this training session is for providers and prospective providers to meet staff at the five Medicaid MCOs working on the Housing Supports Program and learn more details about the process of securing authorization of services from each MCO.
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Climate Risks are Exacerbating
a Challenging Housing Market
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| |  | As highlighted by the sudden 2.5"+ of rain that fell this week in NJ in a 2-hour window causing major flooding, an article from Forbes explores how environmental and disaster risks are impacting every aspect of the U.S. housing market. The article highlights the expanding challenge of climate-induced risks that are compounding market conditions in which there are rising rates of households paying over 30% of their income on housing, or experiencing housing cost burden, across the country. This “perfect storm” is reflected in today’s housing markets that are faced with a property insurance crisis, rapid home devaluation, and rising disaster-related credit losses and foreclosures. The article suggests several solutions to address these challenges, including investing in home design that helps mitigate risks, such as reinforced garage doors and roof upgrades; conducting follow-up inspections for homes after the underwriting process to recommend improvements that decrease hazard risk and insurance costs; and updating building codes and lending models.
| | Opportunity Zones Reimagined | | Beginning on January 1, 2027, a new rolling 10-year Opportunity Zone designation process will commence, and the Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) investment provisions will become a permanent fixture in the tax code. Read more about the latest updates from SHA member Withum to understand the impacts of this new framework. | | Homeless Hoarders, a Hidden Crisis | | |
A study in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease examined homelessness among diagnosed hoarders. Clinician assessments found that 22 percent of participants met the diagnostic criteria for hoarding disorder, while 23 percent self-reported symptoms consistent with the disorder. Among those diagnosed with hoarding, housing instability was a primary concern. At the time of the study, 32 percent of the hoarders were actively facing eviction, 44 percent had previously been involved in eviction proceedings, and 20 percent had already experienced eviction at least once. These rates are five to 10 times greater than the estimated prevalence in the general population.
| | Identifying Impact of Housing & Services with LEO | | |
July 22, 2025 | SHA Member Virtual Meeting | 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
The Supportive Housing Association of New Jersey (SHA) is hosting a member only webinar with the University of Notre Dame’s Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) on identifying impact at the intersections of housing & services. The LEO team works to build body of research to eradicate poverty and works to help organizations validate the work they do in this space. LEO designs and implements rigorous evaluations, at no cost to organizations, focused on looking at how solutions such as housing align with services to help individuals, families, and communities thrive. Join the webinar to learn how your organization might participate in research opportunities.
LEO staff will provide an overall introduction to LEO, case studies of current partners, an outline of the vetting process, and what a research partnership with LEO looks like for organizations. Click here to Learn more about LEO.
SHA members can email Joseph Christensen for the registration details.
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Statewide Family Networking Session
for People who are Self-Directing Services
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July 22, 2025 | 1:00 - 2:30 pm ET | Virtual, Zoom
The Education on Self-Directed Services (OESDS) hosts Family Networking Sessions for people and families who are – or are interested in learning about – self-directing some or all of their DDD-funded services. Advance registration is required!
Click here to register for this session.
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There are many great ways of supporting SHA: Join as a member or send donations.
Thank you for your support!
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Want all the member benefits with SHA? Visit our website or contact Joseph Christensen to apply or manage your membership.
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Members can post jobs to find applicants within the wider supportive housing community. Click on the button to visit our job page.
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Advocate ● Educate ● Support
The Supportive Housing Association of New Jersey unites its diverse coalition of members to advance, promote, and increase supportive housing opportunities across New Jersey. Since 1998, our statewide mission seeks to enhance lives and accessibility to enable independent living within our communities.
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Supportive Housing Association of New Jersey
185 Valley Street, South Orange, NJ 07079
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