40th Anniversary Gala at The Westwood in Garwood

December 1, 2021 @ 6:00PM — 9:00PM Eastern Time (US & Canada)

We are honoring "Four Decades of Bringing Hope Home" to the homeless community in Union County. Since 1981, the Coalition has provided a safety net to more than 3,300 individuals each year with emergency shelter, homelessness prevention and comprehensive services that help families work toward self-sufficiency.

40th Anniversary Gala at The Westwood in Garwood image

Four Decades of Bringing Hope Home

There are currently no tickets available for this event, but you can still make a donation.

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Your support will rebuild lives, prevent homelessness and build a bridge to stronger, more stable families and communities throughout our County.

Elizabeth Coalition Programs

1. Project Gatekeeper is an emergency community walk-in center that provides housing search, rental assistance, counseling, health/social referrals and help to obtain public assistance. Our clients have full access to the services of our on-site sister agency, St. Joseph Social Service Center, for food, clothing, medical assistance and job training.

2. Operation Warm Heart, started in the winter of 2003-2004, is our shelter program that serves the unmet needs of the chronically homeless. A network of churches and community groups provide hospitality, a meal and a warm bed to chronically homeless individuals. In 2007, the Coalition was instrumental in implementing a Countywide Code Blue system to prevent death and injury among homeless people during periods of extreme weather conditions.

3. The Hospitality House program gives working homeless families a place to live when they don’t qualify for public shelters or other assistance. This transitional, supportive housing includes close supervision and required programming. Our families must save at least 30% of their income, learn to stick to a household budget, and participate in group education and enrichment activities while children in the program must regularly attend school. Since we began this program in 1987 no family graduating from our Hospitality House program has ever been known to be homeless again.

4. Bernice’s Place - the children’s program, provides after-school and summertime tutoring, educational enrichment and recreation for children ages 6-13 living in shelters, hotels and low-income situations. The program gives children living in an unstable situation a safe and nurturing place to learn and grow.

5. Permanent Housing Initiative addresses the need for affordable housing. We provide decent, safe, affordable rental housing to families. We currently have 5 units with another 2 units becoming available in 2021 with rents below Fair Market Rate.