The Servants House shelter in Irvington is undergoing renovations that will increase and improve the spaces used by clients and add some office space.
Turning Point Community Services is reconfiguring and expanding its Servants House shelter facility.
Grants from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey and the Schumann Fund for New Jersey have enabled the organization to expand its services to include a Clinical and Supportive Services Division, alongside a new Housing Assistance Program.
“This will help us make a more meaningful impact on the families we serve,” said Dawn Schwartz, chief development officer of Turning Point. “We were outsourcing but because of these grants we can do this internally rather than externally.”
Turning Point, which has been around for more than 20 years, has evolved from a traditional non-congregate shelter to a comprehensive support system. The organization is reconfiguring and expanding its Servants House shelter facility to accommodate this growth. The enhancements will feature dedicated offices for the new team and social and meeting spaces designed to foster community engagement and collaboration.
A $500,000 grant from the Department of Community Affairs will allow Turning Point to renovate space previously occupied by another company into a multi-use area tailored for the families. This innovative space will provide mothers and their families with access to a fully equipped commercial kitchen, allowing them to prepare meals and participate in nutrition and cooking classes.
The new social space will serve as a vibrant hub for various activities, ranging from movie nights and youth yoga classes to essential skills-based training sessions for the mothers.
In collaboration with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, the shelter’s food pantry will now feature refrigeration, ensuring that they can provide fresh and nutritious food options to those in need. Additionally, designated workspaces for teenagers and mothers will be available, offering them a private area for focused work and study.
The Grove Street building houses up to 24 families, or about 70 people, at any given time.
Residents, who generally stay between three and six months, have their own bedrooms and share kitchen and social space.
“We partner with governmental agencies and they underwrite the cost when a family stays with us for a given period of time,” Schwartz said. The governmental agencies are Essex, Union and Hudson counties.
Turning Point is adding staff members to help clients with the things like budgeting, parenting skills, resume writing, job interviewing and finding an affordable place to live.
“It’s called housing navigation,” Schwartz said. “We have someone sit with them, figure out what they can afford, help them find apartments, deal with the landlord.”
There will also be accommodations for non-traditional babysitting hours. Many of the women work nights so traditional daycare is not an option.
Turning Point Community Services is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing secure housing and supportive services to women and families facing challenges such as violence, substance abuse, poverty, and incarceration. Their mission is to positively impact the lives of women experiencing homelessness and abuse through innovative programs and resources that promote independence, foster personal growth, and prepare them for a prosperous future.
TPCS currently owns and operates the only shelter facility in Irvington, along with another property planned for development as a multi-use building that will include permanent affordable housing.
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