New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency

DCA Announces Housing Resource Fair in Ocean County for Sandy-Impacted Residents

For Immediate Release:
June 15, 2018
Contact:
Lisa Ryan
,
Tammori Petty
609-292-6055

Housing Resource Fair to Be Held in Toms River on June 20 to Help People Affected by Superstorm Sandy Access Available Housing Resources
 
Trenton, NJ – The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) today announced a free Housing Resource Fair will be held Wednesday, June 20, 2018, in Toms River Township, Ocean County, to provide Sandy-impacted residents with information about helpful housing resources. While applications for grant funds and housing vouchers are no longer being accepted, resources such as housing counseling, utility assistance, and housing search help are still available. 
 
The Housing Resource Fair will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Ocean County Library Toms River Branch, 101 Washington Street, Toms River, NJ, 08753. It is open to Sandy-impacted residents from anywhere in New Jersey.
 
“Knowledgeable staff from a variety of groups will be present in one place to answer questions and guide people to available resources,” said Lt. Governor Sheila Y. Oliver, DCA Commissioner.
 
For example, attendees will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with supportive services organizations, government agencies, non-profit groups, and financial coaching services. Additionally, housing counselors from the Sandy Recovery Housing Counseling Program will be present to offer attendees free HUD-certified housing counseling services for a wide array of housing-related issues, including foreclosure prevention, mortgages, budgeting, and rental guidance.
 
Notably, representatives of affordable rental communities developed with Sandy recovery funds will be on hand to answer questions and assist people who are interested in applying to lease an apartment. Currently, about 10 such communities throughout Atlantic, Monmouth, and Ocean counties are accepting applications.
 
People can find information by visiting www.renewjerseystronger.org and clicking on “Priority Housing for Sandy-Impacted Residents Available” at the top of the webpage. The website provides such information as where the rental communities are located, the total number of housing units, contact information for the leasing office, and website/phone number for people to submit applications. New information is added regularly as it becomes available.
 
These rental communities were made possible with federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) dollars through the Fund for Restoration of Multifamily Housing (FRM) Program. The FRM Program was created in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy to provide housing developers with zero-interest and low-interest loans to finance the development of affordable housing in the counties the federal government designated as most impacted by Sandy. To date, 51 FRM rental communities are complete, representing more than 3,600 housing units. Another 25 projects are in different phases of development and construction.
 
“The FRM Program has created thousands of new affordable rental units since 2013 and continues to help address an affordable housing demand that was exacerbated in the aftermath of Sandy,” said Lt. Governor Oliver. “We want to make sure people, including those impacted by Sandy, know about these housing opportunities. Therefore, representatives from some of these FRM-funded projects will be at the upcoming resource fair to share information about their communities.”
 
DCA is hosting the Housing Resource Fair in partnership with the Affordable Housing Alliance. The Department has held Housing Resource Fairs in each of those counties the federal government determined were most impacted by Sandy (Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Union). Information about upcoming Housing Resource Fairs will be provided as they are scheduled.
 
For more information on the Housing Resource Fair, people may contact DCA’s Sandy Constituent Services Office by calling (609) 292-3750 or the Affordable Housing Alliance by calling (732) 982-5072.