New Jersey

Homelessness in N.J. is compounded by extreme heat. Advocates are pushing for more cooling centers

Published

1 year ago

July 11, 2024

Homelessness in N.J. is compounded by extreme heat. Advocates are pushing for more cooling centers

From Camden and Cherry Hill to Trenton and the Jersey Shore, what about life in New Jersey do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know.

Gabrielle, who struggles with mental health and addiction problems, has been living on the streets of Trenton for the past five years.

“People look right through you like you’re not real, you’re not worthy of just human decency,” she said.

She said she is in survival mode every day, thinking about where her next meal would come from or how she can keep herself safe. On top of all that, she now has to deal with the extreme heat.

“You’re just walking in circles, like where do I go next, you know what I mean, and wanting to just lay down, sit down, be comfortable,” she said. “It’s mind-blowing that some people may have $4 billion, and I might have $2.”

So far this year, there have been 14 days when the temperature reached at least 90 degrees in Mercer County.

Shel Winkley, a meteorologist with Climate Central, Inc., a nonprofit organization in Princeton that analyzes climate data, said the extremely high temperatures arrived earlier this summer compared to past years. A study by the organization found that New Jersey is tied in third place with Masschussetts and New Mexico as the fastest-warming states in the country. “When it’s hot at night, if you don’t have air conditioning and you don’t have a chance for your body to recuperate from the day’s heat and get ready for the next day of heat, that’s where the health risks are an issue,” Winkley said.

That makes people who live on the streets particularly vulnerable.

New Jersey’s homeless population has risen 17% over the past few years. According to the latest Point-In-Time Count of the Homeless coordinated by Monarch Housing Associates, there were 10,267 people without a home in 2023.

Connie Mercer, the CEO of the NJ Coalition to End Homelessness, said the official total does not include people who are “couch surfers,” who move from friend to friend on a continual basis, many times with their children. She said not being able to escape the heat is dreadful.

“Dying from heat is a horrible way to die, horrible, awful with your muscles contracting, with your losing your ability to think,” she said.

Mercer said that housing is so expensive in New Jersey that most people are priced out.

“More and more, the homeless we’re seeing are people who always worked, who always paid their bills, who are good citizens, and then rents went up and up and up, and they just can’t make it anymore,” she said.

While the unhoused population is increasing, the resources available to them are still scant, Mercer said.

She said some Jersey towns spend more money on homeless dogs and cats than homeless people.

“There just has not been the kind of commitment to taking care of the homeless in this state that there has been in other states,” said Mercer.

She said she is concerned about the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that could allow municipalities to ticket homeless people for sleeping outside.

The State Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee approved a measure to create a Code Red alert program to shelter at-risk individuals during extreme heat and bad air quality events. The bill is under review by the Budget and Appropriations Committee.

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Related Topics:cooling extreme heat Featured homelessness in greater philadelphia unhoused people

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New Jersey

NJ casino workers continue push to end smoking loophole

Published

12 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

NJ casino workers continue push to end smoking loophole

TRENTON, N.J. (WPVI) — New Jersey casino workers, who are pushing to permanently ban smoking in their workplaces, held a rally in Trenton on Monday.

A hearing was held to discuss a lawsuit that aims to close the smoking loophole in the Garden State.

For years, casino workers have been pursuing protections against secondhand smoke in their workplaces.

RELATED | Judge allows smoking to continue in Atlantic City casinos, dealing blow to workers

New Jersey’s Smoke-Free Air Act largely bans indoor smoking, but casinos have a long-standing exemption.

The lawsuit filed last April by the United Auto Workers, which represents dealers at the Bally’s, Caesars and Tropicana casinos.

In August 2024, a judge ruled in favor of the casinos to allow smoking to continue.

“Casino workers are expected to clock in to work every day despite inevitably facing a toxic environment that could cause countless health issues, including cancer, heart disease, and asthma,” said Nancy Erika Smith, the lawyer representing Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) and the UAW on Monday.

“We’re asking the court to find the exemption in New Jersey’s Smoke-Free Air Act unconstitutional and void it immediately. We hope this case will serve as a precedent for casinos across the country to close their smoking loopholes and stop poisoning their workers,” added Smith.

The casinos have warned that thousands of jobs and millions in gambling revenue and taxes could be lost if smoking was banned.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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New Jersey

11-Vehicle Crash Closes Turnpike, College Student Abducted: NJ Weekend

Published

24 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

11-Vehicle Crash Closes Turnpike, College Student Abducted: NJ Weekend

A teenager was shot to death in Jersey City, a woman was killed in a fiery crash with a dump truck in Ocean County, and a man is in critical condition after an SUV hit him in a Princeton crosswalk.

Here are the headlines from the weekend in New Jersey you may have missed.

Teen Shot Dead In Jersey City Apartment, Prosecutor Says

A 16-year-old boy was found shot to death in Jersey City on Friday night, prosecutors said.

Woman Killed In Fiery Head-On Dump Truck Crash In Ocean County

A woman was killed Friday when her van hit a dump truck head-on in Jackson and burst into flames, Jackson police said.

Evelin Villanueva-Detejeda, 43, of Perth Amboy, was killed in the crash that happened about 2 p.m. on Toms River Road (Route 571) near Osprey Place, Sgt. Edward Travisano said.

Six people sustained minor injuries in the collision late Friday afternoon, according to State Police Tpr. Christopher Postorino.

Read more: 11-Vehicle Crash, Overturned Truck Shut Down Turnpike In South Jersey: Police

NJ College Student Abducted From Campus, Sexually Assaulted By Armed Man, Police Say

A Union County man is facing a slew of charges after kidnapping a woman, according to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.

Akram Elsayed, 28, of Roselle, has been arrested after an investigation found that he’d kidnapped a woman and handcuffed her to the door of a car, police said.

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