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Residents, shelters and city officials press for fixes as Newark faces shelter payment delays and rising demand
Summary
Multiple speakers at the Dec. 18 council meeting described delays in payments to shelters, gaps in services for people without addresses, and calls for greater oversight of contracted shelter providers. Administration acknowledged payment problems and said it was reorganizing leadership in homeless services.
Public comment at the Dec. 18 Newark Municipal Council meeting returned repeatedly to homelessness and sheltering — from complaints about delayed payments to providers, to accounts of poor conditions at some contracted shelters and worries that Newark’s services are drawing people from other jurisdictions.
Multiple shelter operators and advocates told the council that payments from the city’s Office of Homeless Services had been late, in some cases for months; operators said late payments forced them to delay payroll, dip into insurance or otherwise risk closure. Speakers warned that delayed city payments threatened continuity of care for…
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