OCEAN COUNTY – The Ocean County Homelessness Trust Fund Task Force is seeking people to help review and evaluate proposals from organizations that are applying for support.
Interested people must be 18 or older and living in Ocean County. The county especially wants to hear from people who have been homeless or close to it, or if they have loved ones who were homeless.
Advocates had pressured county officials for years to create a Homelessness Trust Fund like most other counties in New Jersey. Last year, it went into effect.
The county started collecting a $5 fee on certain documents filed in the County Clerk’s office. By law, these funds must be used to support programs that assist people who are homeless or at risk, with a focus on finding permanent affordable housing.
A task force was formed by the County Board of Commissioners to oversee how these funds are used. Projects should be successful, cost-effective, and use evidence-based practices.
The county has a “Strategic Plan to End Homelessness,” which “identifies key priorities for funding such as increasing rental assistance, enhancing supportive services, and improving coordination across providers to ensure timely, effective responses for individuals and families experiencing or at risk of homelessness. These priorities were informed by community feedback, data analysis, and best practices.”
A number of other skills are welcome:
- Ability to read and understand lengthy texts in a limited time frame;
- Ability to analyze grant applications effectively against specific criteria;
- Ability to analyze proposals for their value to the community at large and residents of Ocean County as a whole, setting aside any personal agenda or preconceived desires for a specific outcome;
- Ability to clearly express evaluations in writing;
- Ability to listen attentively to the input of other reviewers, engage in discussion, bridge differences, and work with other reviewers to synthesize comments, especially when resolving discrepancies in scoring;
- Ability to ethically review information, maintain confidentiality, and avoid any conflict of interest.
“Related education and/or professional experience in homelessness prevention, housing services, supportive housing, mental health, or other related health and human services is not required but would be relevant to the responsibilities of a reviewer,” county officials said.
The reviewer must not have conflicts of interest, and there’s a lengthy explanation of what that could be.
Applications are to be filled out here:
surveymonkey.com/r/HTFAdditionalReviewer2025
Applications are due by August 5, 2025. The review process is planned for August 22 – August 29, 2025.
