Turning Compassion into Action: Housing Hudson County’s Homeless

For decades, the wooded bluffs and cliffs near the Union City and Hoboken viaducts have been home to one of Hudson County’s most well known yet largely hidden homeless encampments. Since the 1990s, individuals experiencing homelessness have built makeshift shelters from scrap wood, tarps, and other salvaged materials in an effort to create a place to call home. Over the years, the encampment has survived repeated cleanups, devastating fires, and ongoing jurisdictional disputes between municipalities and Hudson County. Despite numerous efforts to remove the settlement, people continued to return because they had nowhere else to go.

This history illustrates a difficult reality. Clearing encampments alone does not solve homelessness. Without safe, stable housing alternatives, people are often forced to relocate and begin the cycle again.

Friends of Affordable Housing believes there is a better path forward. Our Tiny Homes Project is designed to transform underutilized county owned land into a thoughtfully planned community of small, permanent homes that provide safety, dignity, and stability for individuals experiencing homelessness, veterans, seniors, and working families struggling to find affordable housing. These are not temporary shelters. They are real homes that offer residents an opportunity to rebuild their lives while remaining connected to the community.

When Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in March 2021, it created a $1.9 trillion economic recovery package to help communities recover from the COVID 19 pandemic. As part of that legislation, $350 billion was distributed to state, county, local, tribal, and territorial governments through the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. These funds were intended to support critical community needs, including public health, economic recovery, assistance for vulnerable populations, infrastructure improvements, and investments that strengthen communities for the future.

The Tiny Homes Project reflects the type of forward thinking investment these recovery funds were designed to support. By utilizing county owned land to create permanent housing, Hudson County has an opportunity to address homelessness with a solution that is practical, compassionate, and fiscally responsible. Instead of repeatedly spending resources responding to homelessness after the fact, we can invest in housing that creates long term stability and strengthens our communities. Communities across the country have demonstrated that tiny home developments can reduce homelessness, restore dignity, and provide a pathway toward independence. Hudson County has the opportunity to become a leader by embracing an innovative housing model that meets people where they are while creating lasting change.