In Tough Times, HomeFront Builds Family Stability and Strengthens the Community
The daylight shines through the window of Nicole and Jonathan’s kitchen, homemade artwork lining the windowsill. Inside, it looks and feels like home — warm, the pantry stocked, and a comfortable, furnished space for the couple and their son.
It wasn’t always this way.
Before Nicole, Jonathan, and their son came to stay at one of HomeFront’s newest emergency shelter apartments, they had been living in motels or in their car. Both of them had experienced poverty, homelessness, and limited support systems in their lives.
“My mom died when I was 17 from cancer, and my dad and my stepmom kicked me out on my 18th birthday. And basically I’ve been drowning ever since,” Nicole says.
The family was staying in the residential building HomeFront recently acquired, which the organization is upgrading into additional emergency shelter. It’ll serve 20 families like theirs — about 60 individuals each year — when fully operational in early 2026.
As Sarah Steward, HomeFront CEO, says, “This alarming need for additional shelter means homelessness is not moving in the right direction in our community, even before we see the full impact of government cuts and policy changes.”
New Jersey has seen homelessness climb significantly over the past few years, increasing by 8 percent from 2024 to 2025, according to the state’s annual Point in Time Count.
Nicole and Jonathan show the stability and success that comes from ensuring families have one of the most basic needs, housing — that foundation for the rest of a family’s life. The family has since moved into one of the one of the permanent affordable apartments created by HomeFront’s partner, Homes by TLC. For the first time in years, their son has a bedroom of his own, and the family can plan for the future instead of simply surviving the present.
Explaining the hardships so many families face, Dana Nelson-Barnes, HomeFront’s director of housing resources, says, “There are so many families living in motels right now. People are being charged well above fair market rent for apartments, even in areas you wouldn’t expect. Wages just haven’t kept up. Many of our clients work one, even two jobs, but still can’t afford rent. And when food programs are cut, it makes it even harder to stay housed.”
The devastating combination of lack of affordability and shrinking government support means more families needing assistance with fewer resources available. The SNAP funding crisis in November has made visible what HomeFront sees every day: families living right on the edge of being able to feed, clothe, and house their families.
Families simply can’t afford to lose more. “During times like this,” Steward says, “all of us must do what we can — and then even more.”
Every HomeFront family seeks stability. As Annie, a Choice Market food pantry client, says, “It helps to be able to get diapers and wipes and food to ensure that [we] get to pay rent on time, and we have a house over our head. Everything towards the end of the month is very tight. Pennies, literally dimes. So this helps out a lot.”
On average, 1,699 families a month visited HomeFront’s food pantries last year. HomeFront also distributed more than 1.3 million diapers.
Another HomeFront client, Laura, needed to stop working midway through her pregnancy. Her husband, Eduardo, had to reduce his work hours to care for her. They got behind on their rent and bills and felt completely overwhelmed. HomeFront’s Housing Stability program helped with their back rent, as well as food, clothing, diapers, and gifts for the holidays. Now, they’re back on their feet and paying their rent independently.
Steward explained, “At HomeFront, we are committed to our mission of ending homelessness in Central New Jersey. We know the best way to do that is to prevent it from happening in the first place. For low-income families, one unexpected bill or hardship can lead to homelessness. That’s why our approach is individualized and flexible — we meet each family where they are and stabilize them before crisis turns into catastrophe.”
The need for services like HomeFront’s continues to grow. Last year, HomeFront provided shelter, food, and transformative assistance to more than 30,000 unique individuals.
HomeFront is also increasing its capacity to fight food insecurity by expanding and enhancing the pantry located in its FreeStore, located in Trenton. A new community garden initiative also equips families with seeds, soil, and supplies tailored to their living environments — from apartments to transitional housing — along with workshops on growing their own food.
Steward credits the community with making HomeFront’s work possible: “Our vision of thriving families is shared by residents, businesses, faith groups, and local organizations across Mercer County. Just as we strengthen the community family by family, our community’s collective care powers everything we do.”
That community support has changed lives like Denise’s. After escaping an unsafe situation while pregnant, she came to HomeFront’s emergency shelter program at their Family Campus. She and her son, Jace, now live in one of HomeFront’s permanent affordable apartments. “I am so grateful to be able to live in one of these beautiful homes,” says Denise. “I am so overwhelmed with how much HomeFront has helped me over the years, from living in the Family Campus until now — living in one of their newly built homes. I have something I can call my own and a place where I safely raise my son!”
Settled in their home, Denise and Jace have enjoyed stable, joy-filled holiday seasons — each one bringing hope and new possibilities.
To learn more about HomeFront and how to help this holiday season and in the New Year, visit the website, www.homefrontnj.org or call 609-989-9417 x 112.
Some client names have been changed for privacy.
