Politics & Government

County Poverty Rate Rose 69 Percent over 20 Years

Like many suburbs, Bergen struggling to deal with poor and homeless families

Along with other suburban communities throughout the United States, Bergen County, New Jersey is scrambling to address a dramatic increase in poor and homeless families, according to “New Jersey Faces New Poverty: Rising Family Homelessness in Bergen County,” a report (attached) released by the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness.

“The changing geography of poverty will alter the landscape of the suburbs for years to come,” says Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness President and CEO Ralph da Costa Nunez. “When it comes to the new suburban reality of family poverty and homelessness, Bergen County and suburbs across the United States are still playing catch-up.”

Over the last twenty years, poverty and homelessness has increased in America’s suburbs, while decreasing in urban city centers. Suburban and rural areas have been particularly hit during the recession, with an increase of 56.9% in the number of people in suburban or rural areas who have accessed homelessness programs from 2007 to 2010, while the number of people in urban areas accessing those services fell 16.4% during the same period.

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On a local level,  increased significantly in Bergen County over the last two years, according to U.S. Census data. Between ages 5 to 17, each of the three school districts has a minimum average of 30 families who are in poverty. In just River Edge, there is a 4.3% level of poverty of residents from 2005 to 2009. Oradell recorded a 1.7% level during the same time span.

This geographic redistribution of poverty and homelessness is playing out in the New York metro area. From 1990 to 2010, poverty increased by 4% in New York City, while rising from 6% to 9.3%, a growth of 55%, in the surrounding suburbs. And Bergen County, one of wealthiest counties in the country, is a victim of this trend.

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Between 1989 and 2010, Bergen’s poverty rate grew 74.4%, one of the largest increases in New Jersey, although Bergen’s poverty rate is still among the lowest of the New York City suburban areas.  

 A 2011 survey of homeless Bergen residents found 31.9% were homeless due to job loss, 37.6% had been evicted, and almost 7.7% were working, but couldn’t afford housing. While poverty rates have risen, housing rental costs have increased 64.9% since 2000.

With the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment at $1,494, a family earning the minimum wage in Bergen County would have to work four full-time jobs to afford a market-rate apartment.

Despite Bergen County’s strong coordination and centralized homelessness intake system, more than 1,500 homeless people were counted on a single night in Bergen in2011, and the county only has the capacity to shelter around 58 families at a time. In November 2010, 232 families at risk of homelessness, and 62 families who were already homeless, were denied shelter, rental subsidies, and otherprevention services.

Bergen County created a ten-year plan to address chronic homelessness in the early2000s, and has recently begun assessing family homelessness, the scope of which is largely hidden from view. Many Bergen County families who lose housing live doubled up with family and friends.

Although no estimate on the numbers of these families is available, service providers report that this phenomenon is so widespread that some landlords have instated extra fees of up to $500 per week for each additional occupant.

The report recommends Bergen continue to invest its resources to improve publictransportation, shelters, and homelessness prevention such as emergency rental assistance and landlord mediation in order to reduce family poverty and homelessness.

Residents can reach out to the Bergen County Community Action Partnership for information about services offered to those in poverty. The organization can be reached by calling 201-968-0200 or emailing info@bergencap.org.


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