well for those experiencing homelessness life is fraught enough but in Ocean County the unhoused have even fewer places to turn it's one of the few areas in the state that has no full-time homeless shelter or transitional housing homeless residents say they're bounced from agency to agency in search of help there and many prefer the streets over what they say are unsanitary and unsafe conditions at the temporary locations offered Ted Goldberg reports I lost my home of 23 years in Beechwood it's a it's quite a long story it's it's everyone's story it's happening I couldn't afford it I thought the home was paid for next thing I know I'm getting letters from attorneys and trying to get to attorneys with no car and my house got sold out from underneath me Jean day Doan has been homeless in Toms River for three months Ocean County doesn't have a full-time shelter for people experiencing homelessness so she's been put up in a motel not cleaned there's bugs you can't cook you're eating sandwiches you're spending money on food it's just hard it's hard all I can't even say it it's just hard motels may not be a long-term solution as more of them around the county are demolished and replaced with higher end homes some of the County's homeless have resorted to living in the woods subject to the elements fires and problems finding food they want to send me further away from my husband and he sleeps in the woods or at his aunts it we can't do it we lost everything now our family unit that we had is being ripped apart and I don't know what's going to happen with that now it's scary honey Ocean County has affordable housing but the wait lists can run for years the county is getting a small Boost from the American Rescue plan which could solve a small part of the problem we're not going to end homelessness if we're just putting people on the waiting list so we're you know really trying to get creative and trying to find units in the community where private landlords are willing to work with us and understand that we're going to be providing a lot of supports to the people who are placed in those apartments Taissa Kelly is the Consulting director for the ending homelessness group a non-profit that was awarded a two-year three million dollar Grant given to Ocean County she says some of that money will go towards rent assistance for people who could become homeless and some money will help find housing for people who've stopped by code blue shelters over the winter what we're really hoping with this is that we've got a huge infusion of resources for rental assistance and that we can use some of that money to help end that cycle for many of the people that we were seeing in code blue groups around Toms River are divided on how they feel about a homelessness trust fund on Wednesday Ocean County Commissioner Gary Quinn said the county is expected to start one as soon as June under a state law municipalities can add a three to five dollar charge to documents filed in county clerk's offices and that money can be used to help put people in homes adding more money is not the issue it's building a building and having a non-profit organization like ourselves run it you know obviously I'm biased because you know we've been doing it for six years the lack of having a physical building to work out of is is the is the problem that we mostly I feel is the biggest obstacle does it generate enough money believe it or not in the long run to solve the problem no it doesn't but does it help create a launching pad and a source of funding that then doesn't have to come from somewhere else well yeah and the nice thing about it is it's dedicated I'm not asking for financial I'm not just help me help me let me get in the little house let me be able to have my coffee and just be a person again put food in the refrigerator homie touches that are hard to come by when you live in a motel in Ocean County I'm Ted Goldberg NJ Spotlight news [Music]