New Jersey
New Jersey homeless population increases amid threat of funding cuts
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.
Homelessness isn’t just a problem in New Jersey cities. It’s impacting many suburban areas as well, but it may be less visible if people without homes congregate in wooded areas and behind shopping centers. Five years ago, 8,097 people were identified as being unhoused during a federally mandated point-in-time count that is conducted annually. Last year, that number spiked to 13,748, an increase of almost 70%.
Data collected during the count, which took place Feb. 4, is used by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to determine federal and state assistance for people who are homeless.
Some homeless individuals find shelter from freezing temperatures in train stations, on buses and in warming centers, while others remain outside with their belongings in shopping carts and bags.
Crystal DeLeon spends much of her time sitting outside a laundromat on the Trenton-Ewing border. She said she has been living on the street for seven years and she cannot go to a shelter because of a spinal issue, but she feels happy to be alive.
“I’m emotionally shook that I made it, because I’m not even supposed to be standing, because I can’t move from here right now,” she said.
Tip of the iceberg
The actual number of people without a home is much higher than the number of people who get counted, said Kasey Vienckowski, leader of the Homeless Planning Team at Monarch Housing Associates. The nonprofit organization assists communities with plans to end homelessness and expand affordable housing.
“They are avoiding service providers, or sometimes during the coldest of the winter months they may find some place to temporarily shelter,” Vienckowski said.
She said individuals who couch surf, going from friend to friend for a place to sleep for days or weeks on end, are not technically counted as homeless because they are sleeping in a permanent residence for a period of time.
Taiisa Kelly, Monarch’s CEO, agreed that the point-in-time count, which has been done for more than a decade, is really just the tip of the homeless iceberg.
“It does provide a consistent assessment of trends over time, but it doesn’t provide a comprehensive picture of every single person experiencing homelessness,” she said.
Each county has a point-in-time coordinator, and when the count is conducted, multiple teams are dispatched to shelters, parks, train stations, soup kitchens, homeless encampments and other areas, asking individuals where they slept the previous night and offering them referrals to warming centers and various assistance programs.
New Jersey
Ex-NJ GOP aide accused of staging slashing attack shows off horrific scars — and mystery man — in new snap
The unhinged ex-GOP aide who claimed she had been viciously attacked and labeled “Trump whore” — but who authorities say staged the assault and hired a fetish artist to carve her up — showed off her jaw-dropping scars in a new photo, along with a heavily-tattooed mystery man.
Natalie Greene, the Ocean City, NJ woman accused of faking a gruesome politically-driven assault while working for Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew, shared a glimpse into her life for the first time since the scandal broke nearly a year ago.
The 26-year-old updated her Facebook profile picture on the Fourth of July to a smiling selfie of herself and the new pal.
She wore a knitted tank top – exposing multiple thick, pink scars across her shoulder, chest and neck.
Her dark hair was slicked back into a low ponytail, and her manicured hand covered her mouth as she laughed.
A man wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap with tattoos up his neck and arm smiled next to her.
Greene, a Masarati-driving ex-Rutgers Law student, was charged with conspiracy to falsely report a violent attack and giving false statements to law enforcement after claiming she was repeatedly slashed by three masked gunmen in a local park because she worked for Van Drew, a pol who had switched from Democrat to Republican in 2020.
Authorities found Greene on the ground with her hands and ankles zip-tied on a trail at a nature preserve in Egg Harbor Township on the night of July 23, 2025. She had dozens of bloody surgical-like slashes across her back, shoulder, chest and face. The words “Trump whore” were written across her stomach in black marker.
But the attack was nothing but a hoax, according to the Department of Justice, which said Greene hired a Pennsylvania-based “scarification” fetish artist to cut her up. Detectives even discovered a reference photo that Greene showed the artist – and her cuts matched the image exactly, investigators said.
Greene was granted supervised release in January as she awaits trial.
Childhood campmate Kristin Haughton James — who was previously busted for cocaine possession and riding an unlicensed vehicle in the streets, a Camden court heard in January — welcomed her into her Florida home and has been acting as her custodian.
Before moving in with Haughton James, Greene had already cycled through two other guardians – including her mother – and had been ordered to attend inpatient treatment.
But the arraignment quickly descended into a nightmare, Haughton James revealed.
“I have never met chaos incarnate until I met this person,” she told NJ.com. “Lives for the drama – wants everything to be about her.
“She just feeds off attention.”
She claimed Greene left her home a wreck, tried to get her evicted and falsely told cops that she was dealing drugs and threatened her with a gun.
Haughton James said she kicked her out in March. It is unclear where Greene is currently living.
Haughton James, Greene and Greene’s attorney did not return messages seeking comment.
New Jersey
Husband of slain New Jersey mom begs for help in newly released 911 call | Fox News Video
Former homicide detective Brian Foley joins ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to provide analysis on Conor Hanlon’s 911 call after finding his wife, Brooke, stabbed to death.
Former homicide detective Brian Foley provides expert insights into the newly released 911 call from Conor Hanlon, whose wife, New Jersey therapist Brooke Hanlon, was found stabbed to death. Foley analyzes the husband’s emotional state and the police’s approach, noting the case’s ‘suspicious’ designation 13 minutes into the call.
New Jersey
NJ firefighter dies after crash responding to fire call
A young firefighter died two weeks after being badly hurt in a crash while responding to a fire call, according to the Malaga Fire Company.
Robert (Bobby) Reider, 23, was driving north along Delsea Drive while trying to get to the scene of fire on Saturday, June 27 when his car went off the road, officials said.
When first responders got to the scene of the crash, they found Reider trapped in his car and worked to remove him.
Reider was then taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital where he was treated for severe and traumatic injuries.
Weeks later, on July 10 around 4:30 a.m., Reider died from his injuries while still in the hospital.
The Malaga Fire Company says that Reider joined their team in 2018 when he was just 16 as a junior firefighter.
He then went on to earn a certificate at Fire 1 at the Salem County Fire Academy in 2022.
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