VOA-GNY celebrates New Jersey’s enactment of two bills that center the safety and opportunity of people experiencing homelessness.
On the final day of his term, Governor Murphy signed S4832/A3360 and S2346/A2258 into law, laying the foundation for municipalities to strengthen local resources for homelessness prevention and improve safety for people without shelter.
By allowing counties to adopt and fund local homeless housing plans, Municipal Housing Trust Funds will empower communities to plan strategically and better serve the nearly 14,000 individuals and families experiencing homelessness across New Jersey.
Code Red will protect people experiencing homelessness during extreme heat and poor air quality by ensuring access to cooling centers—an urgent need as climate change drives more dangerous weather conditions. This is particularly meaningful as we serve individuals who face heightened risks of heat-related illness and death due to their psychiatric medications.
We thank former Governor Murphy and the Legislature—especially Senate President Scutari, Singleton, Turner, and McKnight, and Assemblymembers Carter, Quijano, Abdelaziz, Lopez, and McCoy—for working with us to champion these bills.
We’re ready to work with Governor Sherrill and her team to implement these solutions at the scale this crisis demands.