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 A New Jersey state agency plans to allocate nearly $100,000 to helping the homeless get out of Atlantic City. The state will be expanding their Travelers Assistance Program which buys bus or plane tickets for the homeless who wish to return to their families. The program will not only help some of the estimated 500 homeless people living in the city get back on their feet but it will also help clean up the city and rejuvenate its image.
"It's one of those quality-of-life issues for our visitors and frankly, our residents here who are confronted by the needy," said Susan Ney Thompson executive director of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority. "We're looking for a good way to help those people who end up stranded here get back home."
Atlantic City has lost nearly a third of its business over the past few years and it faces ever increasing competition from other states in the region. Several large homeless shelters are located close to casinos including the Atlantic City Rescue Mission which is located behind the massive Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Center. Bill Southrey, executive director of the rescue mission, said 300 of the city's homeless live at his facility, an additional 100 or so are on the streets or live under the Boardwalk, and yet another 100 live in other places like abandoned buildings. He said that the rescue center has been running the Travelers Assistance program for decades but that they normally worked with a budget that is nearly half of what it is now and that the new budget should "let us help a lot more people."
The program will be strictly voluntary and no homeless people will be forced to leave the city if they don't want to. Prior to sending them on their way the mission makes sure that there is someone back home who is willing to take them in. "We will never just put someone on a bus and just send them away," Southrey said. "I don't believe in Greyhound therapy."
In addition to helping more people return home, the city will be ramping up regular sweeps by police and social service agencies under the Boardwalk and in public places. The sweeps will help remove the homeless from dangerous living conditions and help them find assistance.
"It's not a healthy environment," Thompson said. "There's a lot of debris there, and it's exposed to the cold and the elements. The goal is not to harass people; it's to help them."
Las Vegas has successfully run two similar programs. At first many people were outraged saying that it did not solve the problem but after awhile people warmed up to the idea when it became clear that the agency was making contact and setting up reunions between the homeless and their families.
"It does work and it can be gratifying," said Larry Bogan, one of the many homeless people trapped in Atlantic City. "It has reconnected families with missing loved ones that had not heard from in years."
"I got skills," he said. "I could be driving somebody's truck or bus, and I'm a chef by trade.
"If I could get back home," he said, "it would feel like a million dollars."
As always, stay tuned to Casinofan for more news and updates.
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