Who We Are

Founded in 2004, the Mercer Alliance to End Homelessness is a public-private partnership of the county’s business, government and nonprofit sectors. We develop strategies to ent and end homelessness in Mercer County, New Jersey.

While local agencies provide direct services to clients who experience homelessness, they do not have the time or resources to identify and implement the comprehensive strategies necessary to promote solutions to homelessness. This is the mission of the Mercer Alliance. We review the national research on best practices in order to recommend and facilitate the public awareness, training, advocacy and systemic changes needed to end homelessness.

The Mercer Alliance is part of a national effort to develop ten year plans to end homelessness in communities across the country. The Mercer Alliance released the first Ten Year Plan in New Jersey and is a model for others in the state and nation who aim to move from servicing homelessness to solving it.

It could be said that Mercer County has two distinct populations within its boundaries – one that is affluent and one that is struggling. Measures of household income put Mercer County, in fact, in the top 1.2% of the U. S. population. Yet, 8.6 per cent of Mercer County households live below the Federal poverty level and 20.8 per cent live under twice that level, which qualifies them as “working poor.” Because of the high cost of living here, self-sufficiency is out of reach for more than 1 in 5 of our neighbors.

We would feel an obligation to our poorest neighbors even if we were not an affluent community. But since we are so rich in resources, what excuse do we have not to do all we can to end the trauma of homelessness in our midst?

The National Effort to End Homelessness

The Mercer Alliance is following seven steps to success that have been outlined by the U. S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.

1. Redefine the problem - Solve Homelessness, don’t service it.

2. Research and develop data - Insist on and be guided by evidence of results.

3. Recruit jurisdictional leadership - Gain support, commitment and action from the top down; focus on those with the ability to determine and implement policy changes.

4. Replicate innovation - Seek unconventional thinking; learn from the leaders; deploy proven strategies.

5. Realign resources - Shift focus and funds from ad hoc responses to long-term problem solving.

6. Report results - Be an ambassador for effectiveness; rally support based on quantifiable success.

7. Reinvest in the community - Put the costs saved by this approach to work in other areas of need.

Participating Organizations

The following organizations have shown their support to the Mercer Alliance and are actively involved in the effort to end homelessness in Mercer County.

• ABC Ministers Council
• After School Partnership
• AG Edwards
• Anchor House
• ARC Mercer
• Benson Dan, Hamilton Twp. Councilman
• Bristol Myers Squibb
• Caliper
• Cannon, Ann, Freeholder
• Capital Health Systems
• Catholic Charities, Diocese of Trenton
• Child Care Coalition
• Child Care Connection
• City of Trenton Department of Housing
• City of Trenton Department of Human Services
• Colavita, Pasquale, Freeholder
• Community Action Service Center, Inc.
• Community Innovations (TEDCO)
• Concerned Citizens of Ewing
• Consumer Credit Counseling
• Corporation for Supportive Housing
• Corzine, Jon, Governor of New Jersey
• District 6 Parole Office, Mercer County
• Doorway to Hope, Inc.
• Dunham Hall Residence
• DYFS District Office
• Escher Street, SRO
• Family Guidance Center Corporation
• Federal Interagency Council on the Homeless
• Freedom House, Inc.
• Grace Cathedral Church
• Greater Mercer Transportation Association
• Greater Princeton Chamber of Commerce
• Greater Trenton Behavioral Health Care
• Greenstein, Linda, State Assemblywoman
• Guear, Gary, State Assemblyman
• Gusciora, Reed, State Assemblyman
• Habitat for Humanity
• Hamilton Township Housing Authority
• Hamilton, Keith, Freeholder
• Henry J. Austin Health Care
• Hill Wallack
• HIV Consortium
• Holt, Rush, US Representative
• HomeFront
• Homes for NJ
• Homeless Prevention Program, NJDCA
• Housing & Community Development Network
• Housing Initiatives of Princeton
• Hsueh, Shing-Fu, Mayor of West Windsor
• Hughes, Brian, Mercer County Executive
• Interfaith Hospitality Network
• Interfaith Hospitality Network of Mercer County
• Inverso, Peter, State Senator
• Isles, Inc.
• Janssen Pharmaceutical
• Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Greater Mercer County
• JJ&R Management
• John O. Wilson Hamilton Neighborhood Service Center, Inc.
• John Watson Institute for Public Policy
• Junior League of West Windsor
• Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund
• Lawrence Interfaith Housing
• Lawrence League of Woman Voters
• Lawrence Neighborhood Service Center
• Lawrence Township, Office of Aging
• LifeTies, Inc.
• Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministries
• Martin House
• Mercer County Board of Social Services
• Mercer County Chamber of Commerce
• Mercer County Community College
• Mercer County Department of Human Services
• Mercer County Department of Mental Health
• Mercer County Hispanic Association - MECHA
• Mercer County Probation Office
• Mercer County Teen Coalition
• Mercer County Vicinage (Courts)
• Mercer County Department of Housing
• Mercer County Department of Public Safety
• Mercer County Workforce Investment Board
• Mercer Landlords’ Association
• Mercer Street Friends
• Mercer Trenton African American Chamber of Commerce
• Merrill Lynch
• Mount Carmel Guild of Trenton, Inc.
• Mount, Pam, Lawrence Councilwoman
• Mt. Zion AME Church
• Muoio, Liz, Freeholder
• My Card
• National Housing Institute
• New Jersey Alliance for the Homeless
• New Jersey Association for Correction
• New Jersey Department of Corrections
• New Jersey Dept. of Health and Senior Services
• New Jersey Dept. of Labor
• New Jersey Dept. of Treasury
• New Jersey Division of Mental Health Services
• New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services
• New Jersey Division on Civil Rights
• New Jersey Housing & Mortgage Finance Agency
• New Jersey Institute for Social Justice
• New Jersey Catholic Conference
• New Jersey Public Defender
• NJDCA Division of Housing and Community Resources
• Palmer, Douglas, Mayor of City of Trenton
• Patten, Robert, Mayor of Hightstown
• Pennington Presbyterian Church
• Planned Parenthood
• Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, West Windsor
• Princeton Area Community Foundation
• Princeton Clergy Association
• Princeton Justice Project
• Princeton Partners
• Princeton Regional Human Services Dept.
• Princeton Senior Resource Center
• Princeton University
• Project Freedom
• Rescue Mission of Trenton
• Rider University
• Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton
• S.T.E.P.S., Trenton/Mercer
• Salvation Army, Trenton
• SERV Centers of New Jersey
• Smith, Chris, US Representative
• State Employment & Training Commission
• The Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton
• Thomas Edison State College
• Trenton Academy Preschool
• Trenton Area Soup Kitchen
• Trenton Board of Education
• Trenton Family Preservation House
• Trenton Housing Authority
• Trinity Episcopal Church, Princeton
• Turner, Shirley K., State Senator
• Tyco (US) International, Inc.
• Union Industrial Home for Children
• Unitarian Universalist Church, Washington Crossing
• United Parcel Service
• United Progress, Inc.
• United Way of Greater Mercer County
• Volunteers of America, Imani House
• Walter, Lucylle, Freeholder
• Watson-Coleman, Bonnie, State Assemblywoman
• Womanspace
• Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA of Princeton)
• Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA of Trenton)