This past month we launched our newest Navigational Resource Center to provide residents of Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties with a variety of direct, essential social services. Through a partnership with Hopeloft, our Tri-County Navigational Resource Center will provide greater access to critical social services for vulnerable populations that were previously underserved or forced to travel to neighboring counties for similar services.
“With this new, centralized office location in Bridgeton, residents in need of services have a local resource to access the personalized support and professional guidance they require,” said Amanda Leese, SVP of Safe Return/Navigator Programs for VOADV. “By strategically partnering with Hopeloft, we are ensuring that vulnerable individuals in Cumberland County will have a local agency that can provide immediate and direct access to an array of social services from housing assistance to employment services.”
The new office – located at 60 E. Commerce Street – will operate Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Furthering our mission to serve our communities’ most vulnerable individuals, the Tri-County Navigational Resource Center will offer two of our programs: Safe Return and Navigator.
Safe Return provides comprehensive reentry assistance, including intake, assessment and service linkage, to individuals returning to society within three years of being incarcerated and who are no longer under criminal justice supervision. Designed to function very similarly to Safe Return, the Navigator program provides outreach, rapid response and navigation to critical services to all vulnerable populations, while also addressing factors that contribute to housing instability and homelessness.
Safe Return and Navigator both offer essential services, including:
- Case management and family reunification
- Housing assistance
- Employment services – job readiness, employment training, job placement
- Education assistance
- Legal assistance and advocacy
- Benefits assessment and reinstatement assistance
- Substance abuse and mental health linkage
- Treatment referral and linkage
- Assistance with procurement of state identification & driver’s license
Ultimately, the Safe Return and Navigator programs both provide stability, structure and holistic supportive services needed to help individuals establish and continue to lead independent lives.
The Tri-County Navigational Center is one of four Navigational Resource Center locations throughout southern and central New Jersey.
If you are a Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem County resident in need of assistance, contact VOADV’s Tri-County Navigational Center directly at (856) 716-2212.