By Donald Gilpin

Breaking the cycle of poverty and eradicating homelessness in Mercer County will be on the agenda on Thursday, December 1 at 6 p.m. at Labyrinth Books on Nassau Street, with a panel of HomeFront experts leading the discussion.

“Our panel discussion will share important background on what poverty and homelessness look like right now right here in Mercer County and give insight on HomeFront’s innovative, family-by-family approach to breaking the cycle of poverty,” said HomeFront CEO Sarah Steward, who will be moderating the event. “The HomeFront team will share why we do the work we do, the impact it has, and what we, as a community and as individuals, can do to support our neighbors.”

Panel members will include Celia Bernstein, CEO of Homes by TLC, a close partner of HomeFront, which develops affordable permanent housing in Mercer County; and Sheila Addison, director of the HomeFront Family Campus, which hosts 38 homeless families at a time, providing wraparound services to ensure that parents and their children have a unique plan specific to their needs.

Also on the panel will be Charles Wallace, director of Hire Expectations, HomeFront’s job training and high school equivalency prep program, which provides training opportunities, mentoring, and job placement; Catherine Cozzi, resource network director, overseeing HomeFront’s food pantries, FreeStore, Diaper Resource Center, and Furnish the Future Program; and Chris Marchetti, director of Joy, Hopes, and Dreams, a HomeFront program that provides year-round supports for hundreds of kids in the community, with an emphasis on academic enrichment and tutoring.

The hour-long panel discussion will be followed by an open Q&A starting at 7 p.m.

“For over 30 years, HomeFront has been providing housing and support services like food, education, career support, and children’s programs for families in our community, lifting thousands of families out of crisis,” noted Steward, who served for seven years as HomeFront COO before becoming CEO on October 1, taking over from HomeFront founder Connie Mercer.

“Overall the goal of the panel is to show the comprehensiveness of our work,” said Homefront Marketing and Communications Specialist Jay Moschella. “At our core, our mission is to end family homelessness and, more importantly, give families the tools to break the cycle of poverty. Each family has different needs, and a plan needs to be created to aid them from crisis to stability.”

She continued, “HomeFront has 35 programs and services — many more than what will be represented at the panel. We hope that this discussion will inspire our community to help us assist local families in building long-term success.”
For more information or to get involved locally, visit homefront.org, email getinvolved@homefrontnj.org, or call (609) 989-9417 x107.