Dear Friends, 

Over the years you've received lots of newsletters from Interfaith-RISE, and you may have heard of the programs Accompany Now (for unaccompanied miniors) and Still Waters (for victims of trafficking), or been aware of programs serving re-entry clients and asylum-seekers. You may, too, have occasionally heard about a new affordable home for homeless NJ families having a grand opening in and around the Central Jersey area—and you heard it was somehow connected to the Reformed Church of Highland Park. 

There is a non-profit that serves as a very large umbrella for many of the good things you hear about. RCHP-Affordable Housing Corporation (RCHP-AHC) was born from an idea planted by a church member at the Reformed Church of Highland Park to consider coming up with housing solutions for foster youth who 'aged out' of the system. The church's generous sharing of its building, and the fact that I, as one of the pastors, have led this effort—first as board president and now as CEO—has kept the connection strong between the church and non-profit. 

We started with a goal of building 6 apartments.  Now, we own and operate 26 buildings in 7 towns and we lease/sublease 230 apartments in 15 counties.  Our housing program alone serves north of 2,000 people with permanent housing with proper supports. 

RCHP-AHC is a totally separate non-profit from RCHP, but the roots of AHC run deep in a tradition that believes that all of the earth belongs to the Almighty, and our job is to be stewards in such a way that the good gifts of the world are distributed and shared with all.  We want all people to access the things that create the base for beautiful, healthy lives. 

At this moment in its life, RCHP-AHC is very large.  200 staff are engaged in serving a caseload of over 4500 people a year.   

FEATURE STORIES

Freedom Lost and Freedom Found: A Resident in RCHP-AHC Re-Entry Housing Takes It One Day at a Time. 

Interview by Deb Convery 

RCHP-Affordable Housing Corporation provides housing for many vulnerable populations, including those coming out of prison. Nathan Gray, who goes by the name “Freedom”, lives in one of our apartments in a beautiful town in Middlesex County. Released from Southwoods State Prison (a medium security facility located in Cumberland County) in May of 2023 at the age of 49, Freedom had spent the last 17 years behind bars. 

It’s not uncommon for family and friends to lose faith and give up on their loved ones in prison; often there is no safety net when it’s time for re-entry. Freedom was lucky enough to have siblings and close friends surrounding him with the love and help he needed when he got out. While in prison, he had connected with a professor at Georgetown University, a former seminary classmate of Pastor Amos Caley, Assoc. Pastor at RCHP, who then referred Freedom to Trysh Vargas, Director of RCHP-AHC Re-Entry Housing.

Though he struggles with adjustment post-release, he’s grateful for the assistance he’s received so far. “The Re-Entry program paid for my rent for the first four months and a friend of mine helped me to get a job at a company that assembles meals for the airlines.” He says the work is tedious and it takes him anywhere from 1 ½ - 2 hours to get to work via public transit and hopes to eventually save enough money to buy a truck so he can start a junk hauling business.

Asked whether he spent any time in solitary, Freedom says.......

Where in the World is Dr. Norma Bowe? Well, Everywhere! 

Dr. Norma Bowe, Director of Global Grace Health/Be the Change and Winner of the Russ Berrie Foundation Making a Difference Award 2023 

Many of us know Norma as the Director of Global Grace Health who runs the mobile vaccine unit in and around Highland Park, but for those who don’t know, **Norma started Be The Change, a 100% volunteer effort, over 13 years ago to address social justice issues in NJ. She’s led teams of volunteers to deliver food and support to homeless individuals in Newark every week for 12 years. During the pandemic, she created an Emergency Pandemic Food Pantry that delivered 46,800 food boxes to vulnerable people in seven counties. She began outreach to elderly individuals living in homeless tent encampments in Ocean County. And as if that’s not enough, she’s also a professor at Kean University. 

About receiving the award, Norma says: 

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UPDATES & HAPPENINGS

New Book - Global Grace Cafe on sale now 

The Rev. Liz Estes, member of RCHP and now senior minister at a church in Kingston, NY, is the author of the new book, Global Grace Cafe. If you don’t know the backstory of what inspired I-RISE to come into being, this book tells a compelling story, filled with heartbreak and hope, struggle and triumph, with a focus on our Housing Maintenance Director, Harry Pangemanan and his family. Click here to purchase the book on Amazon or you can also pick up a copy at Global Grace Marketplace located at 208 Raritan Ave., Highland Park. 

New Senior Housing in Long Branch! 

RCHP completed the zoning board process and received unanimous approval for 15 units at the historic Reformed Church of Long Branch.  Seth is super proud of our team and thankful for Jim Zarra and Steve Hambro (our attorney) for pulling everything together. You can read the article here. We hope to break ground March/April, 2024. 

I-RISE Walks with Asylum Seekers Recap 

Our I-RISE WALK at the beginning of November brought some 350 people together. We were able to listen to refugees and service providers, informally visit with new and old friends while walking, and learn about how to engage in the day-to-day work of welcoming.   

The November Walk is an occasion for celebration. We celebrated great partners in employment and housing. We clapped for new arrivals and for those providing support. And we gave thanks for the incredible work of our amazing staff. Many thanks to all those who helped us raise $110,000 for our continuing work of serving new arrivals in New Jersey! 

See our Community Highlights section for more Walk photos

Ribbon-Cutting & Celebration for New Housing in Highland Park

We gathered at the new quadplex on North 4th Avenue in Highland Park on December 13th to do a ribbon-cutting, celebration and walk through of the new affordable housing units for low-income clients. On hand to do the honors (pictured) were Pastor Seth, Nancy Pinkin (Middlesex County Clerk), Elsie Foster (HP Mayor), Julian Fowler (Dept. of Community Affairs), and Rob Roesener (RCHP-AHC Board President).

There are so many people and organizations to thank, and they all deserve a mention for making this newest housing possible. Please click on the button below to read Pastor Seth's remarks at the event. See our Community Highlights section for more New Housing photos.

STAFF VOICES

The History of RCHP-Affordable Housing Corporation: Irayna Court and Beyond 

By Lori Freedman, MSW – AHC Tenant Services Director 

In the summer of 2005, as Pastors Seth and Stephanie and the congregation of the Reformed Church of Highland Park gave support to church members who became a foster family to medically fragile babies, they sought to learn more about foster care and the hardships faced by youth “aging out.” A search for real answers – not platitudes – was embarked upon and in the Fall of 2005, a steering committee was formed to explore the possibility of creating affordable housing for youth on top of the church’s administrative building. 

In March 2006, the RCHP Affordable Housing Corporation was born and the first Board of Trustees was formed. The church sold the “air rights” over the administration building to RCHP-AHC for $1.00, and AHC applied for funds to create six units of housing for young women who were, or were about to be, homeless.   

Irayna Court – our first housing project – is named for the Greek goddess of peace. It is a shared “supportive housing” community in which each young woman has their own bedroom and bathroom and shares the kitchen, living room, library and laundry area. The majority of residents come to Irayna Court either from foster care or after having been kicked out of their family home and spending time in a shelter, motel, couch surfacing or living in their car or in a park. They are between 18 and 21 years old when they first arrive and, on average, stay two to five years.   

Although there is a great sense of relief at finally having a stable place to stay, living in a community with others and learning to be fully independent is not easy...... 

Every DIRE Victory is a Milestone for Clients:  Success Stories from DIRE Legal 

By Jamie DiNicola, Esq., Director of Afghan Legal Services 

Story #1:  From Chaos in Afghanistan to Harvard University  

One of our clients, who entered as an unaccompanied minor from Afghanistan, came to our office to receive free legal services.  We were able to complete his asylum application and also prepare him thoroughly for his asylum interview.  His asylum decision was taking a long time to come in and this prolonged process would have likely interfered with his ability to receive federal financial aid for college.  Due to these extenuating circumstances, an expedite request was prepared by our attorney and a few weeks after the expedite request was submitted, the client received his asylum approval and, shortly thereafter, was accepted into an Ivy League university.  He is currently studying there now and hopes to pursue a career in law.  

Story #2:   From Family Separation to Family Reunification 

Another success story follows a young husband and father who had to leave his spouse and children in Afghanistan when the Taliban took over the country.  He resides with just his brother here in New Jersey.  Our office prepared his asylum application and it was approved in only about 6 months after submission, which is a short amount of time in relation to most other asylum applications.  Once his asylum approval came in, our office hastily prepared I-730 (Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition) applications for his spouse and children, which were approved in only three weeks.  His spouse and children are now preparing for their interviews at the Islamabad, Pakistan Embassy in order to enter the U.S. as asylees and be reunited with their husband and father here in New Jersey.

PROGRAM UPDATES & HIGHLIGHTS IN BRIEF

Accompany Now! - 4 strong teams are moving us forward. We recently received word that Accompany Now will grow to include a 5th team!  This is very good news for us and will allow us to add 10 new positions, serving another 500 or so youth in NJ next year. 

Asylum Seeker Housing - The rapid pace of arrivals has slowed down a bit, but we expect it to pick up very soon.  We are now helping families further deepen their financial standing.  It is exciting how many clients, placed over the past year, are fully self-sufficient.  We have 2 full-time staff and 1 part-time staff handling nearly 350 individuals in this program.   

AHC/DIRE Legal - 2 lawyers and 7 legal aids/accredited reps are doing marvelous work with clients from throughout our programs.  All Afghans have had Asylum Cases submitted, lots of Haitians have had TPS (Temporary Protective Status) apps submitted, dozens of unaccompanied minors have had SIJ’s (Special Immigrant Juvenile) apps submitted.  Work authorizations, travel documents, green card applications…it is all happening at DIRE Legal.  We just added 2 days a week of Ukrainian legal services.

Global Grace Health - One full-time nurse, 2 part-time nurses and 5 full-time community health workers continue to provide vaccinations for Covid and for Flu and TB.  Also, they are doing a ton to assist with health assessments, referral, medical transport etc.

Interfaith-RISE - We have hired wonderful new directors for the Career Pathways Program (Jacqueline Heads) and the Refugee Cash Assistance Program (Patricia Henderson-Wright)—two really essential programs for us. Our Trenton and Neptune Satellite Offices are becoming ‘full service’ offices, with staffing for Case Management, Case Assistance, School Support etc. 

Re-Entry Housing - This team is fully staffed and we are on track (or close) to meeting our benchmark of housing 70+ individuals coming out of state prison in a 15-month period.  We are very pleased with the recent full-time addition to our team, Ibrahim Sulhamani.  Re-Entry has three full-time staff and makes a contribution toward our housing team. 

Still Waters Anti-Trafficking - Increased numbers of clients have led us to take another staff member to full time.  We have 3 full-time staff and 2 part-time staff now working with victims from across the state and region. 

RCHP-AFFORDABLE HOUSING CORP

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

Tim McNeilly speaks to a Walk attendee about I-RISE Recycled Wood Shop and delicious food was served by Global Grace Café. Thanks to everyone who made the day special, especially I-RISE staff! 

The greatest compliment and a testament to the skill and care of our builders: Overheard several times was the phrase “I’d like to live here!” from several of the people during the walk-through of the new housing on N. 4th Ave in Highland Park. 

Tierra Johnson and Tamara Marcellus, case managers for I-RISE take a break during the tour of the 4 new apartments. 

Our operations are generally self-sufficient.  However, our client needs vary, and 100% of donations from the public go to Direct Client Assistance. Thank you!