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Housing advocates urge preservation of Affordable Housing Trust Fund and emergency shelter support
Summary
Nonprofit housing developers, Habitat affiliates and homelessness advocates warned that governor’s budget proposals to divert or cut dedicated housing trust funds would endanger dozens of projects and asked the Legislature to preserve the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and add emergency shelter staffing support.
Representatives of local housing developers and Habitat for Humanity affiliates told the budget panel that the Affordable Housing Trust Fund is the primary source for smaller, 100% affordable projects and urged the Legislature to preserve the fund rather than redirect it. Liz DeCourcy (Greater Middlesex and Morris Habitat for Humanity), Scott Millard (Passaic County Habitat), Bridgette Pfeiffer (Parkside Partnership, Camden) and Sarah Matthews (Habitat Cape May) described projects that would be delayed or canceled if the fund were diverted, and provided project examples, client stories and pipeline figures.
Several speakers asked the Legislature to reject the governor’s proposed diversion of AHTF dollars to projects above 80% area median income and requested that the state continue to use the AHTF for under‑80% AMI housing as intended by statute. Passaic County Habitat and Greater Middlesex and Morris Habitat described completed projects that used AHTF grants to move families into homes and said the state risked jettisoning smaller projects that do not attract private capital.
On homelessness, Connie Mercer of the New Jersey Coalition to End Homelessness urged $10 million in emergency funding to shore up shelter staff payrolls, describing an ongoing 45% increase in the unhoused population over two years and a 74% staffing shortage among shelters. Mercer warned that closure of shelters because of staffing shortages would increase use of jail, hospitals, motels and other more expensive options.
Reentry providers—including the Reentry Coalition, Kintock and the VantagePoint program—asked for restored or new funding to sustain housing and reentry services, tiny home projects for formerly incarcerated people and the statewide referral hub that connects people to services.
No bills were voted on during testimony; advocates asked legislators to preserve the AHTF, restore prior year additions, and add shelter staffing and emergency homelessness funds in final negotiations.
