NJ Transit, Jersey Shore rocker Jon Bon Jovi’s Soul Kitchen Foundation and two other charities launched a more helpful solution for people in need who are asking riders for spare change.
The program, “Chance for Change” allows passengers to donate electronically to charities that will use the money to get help from everyday necessities to substance abuse counseling to housing for the unhoused and others in need.
Officials speaking at a launch event at the Red Bank train station Monday called it a better option than giving a person cash for a one time, well-intentioned handout for coffee or food.
The program augments NJ Transit Police Department’s nationally recognized community outreach program where volunteer officers work with homeless and other at risk people in train and bus faculties to connect them with social service agencies to help.
At the launch, Lasheema Edwards told how she is a living example of how such programs can turn a person’s life around. She went from sleeping in train stations and parks to getting help through NJ Transit and other outreach programs.
Today, Edwards is the regional coordinator for the Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey, one of the partners in Change for Change, along with Volunteers of America, Delaware Valley.
“I wish it was there when I was out there,” she said about Change for Change after the event. “I think this will be helpful because it’s directly in a place that people frequent. I think it’s a better option.”
Edwards, who lived in Essex County at the time, described herself as going from a person who was “chronically homeless” with substance abuse problems to getting help from outreach officers, graduating college and going into community outreach herself.
It took “more than one engagement” by NJ Transit community outreach officers before she said she decided to go to a wellness clinic.
“It was the beginning of a light in my journey to get my life back,” Edwards said. “I’ve come a long way.”
Chance for Change donations go to a coalition of partners that provide direct assistance to people experiencing homelessness, substance use disorders or who have other social service needs.
“It took me about six years, if it wasn’t for the outreach teams, I would have never thought about connecting to services,” Edwards said. “It’s going to help. I’ve been out there.”
The Chance for Change program also provides a safe way for NJ Transit riders to donate, through its website, mobile app and QR codes displayed in stations.
NJ Transit Police Chief Christopher Trucillo said the new program aligns with the department’s community outreach goals – to keep people safe and a social responsibility to the less fortunate.
The majority of NJ Transit customers are kind and want to help others and Chance for Change is the most effective way to do that, he said.
“Here’s the reality that we know in law enforcement. That good natured donation that you give on the spot is going more than likely to foster the addiction and the problem and you’re not helping,” Trucillo said.
“Chance for Change is an opportunity to do something from the heart to get the money where it needs to be so they can get the actual help they need,” he said.
Using the QR code also can make transit facilities safer for riders, he said.
“No one agency can do this work alone,” said Heather Goldfarb, Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation’s executive director. “When we were approached by NJ Transit police to partner with them last fall…we didn’t hesitate to say yes.”
With kitchens in Red Bank and Toms River, that “never turn anyone away,” Goldfarb said people have come from all over the state and as far as New York City seeking help. The foundation partners with Volunteers of America and the Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey,
Over the past nine months, the foundation found housing for 20 people, she said.
“Our partners provide trains and bus passes for people who need them, including Vinny, our most recent guest to secure housing,” she said. “He’s actually using NJ Transit bus this morning to travel to Freehold to pick up the keys to his brand-new apartment in Freehold today.”
Collaborative Support Programs works with NJ Transit police in transit stations to offer services to at risk people on the spot, said Pam Baker, deputy director of homelessness services.
“This collaboration has been nothing short of incredible to work with the most amazing officers, working collaboratively together being able to meet people where they’re at…in the terminal,” she said. “Even if they say no, we keep coming until we hopefully get that person the help that they need.”