Community Services
Support
- The Housing Authority partners with Shaping Elizabeth to provide the Mravlag Manor Mobile Market which offers nutritious packaged meals as well as fresh produce.
- HACE staff, in partnership with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey and through the NJ Community Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), assess the eligibility of senior residents 60 years or older to receive a food bank box with a retail value of $40.00 each month. These food boxes are made available to eligible residents at the senior buildings of Farley Towers, O’Donnell-Dempsey Towers, Kennedy Arms, Ford-Leonard Towers, and E’Port Commons. At times the New Jersey Supplemental Food Program will have access to fresh produce in season and that too is distributed to eligible seniors. In the past this had included vegetables such as corn, cucumbers, and string beans.
- The HACE Jobs Plus team, in partnership with Kean University and the City of Elizabeth, have practical experience in aiding local residents who require assistance with the process of expungement of criminal records. Though not all criminal records can be expunged, when successful, expungement opens doors and allows individuals whose criminal backgrounds impeded their efforts at job search to secure employment.
- HACE staff work with the Tenant Associations at the different senior buildings and the management staff in various capacities that include but are not limited to the following: organizing Tenant Association elections, arranging trips, scheduling educational workshops and health screenings, as well as planning recreational and holiday events.
- HACE staff work with seniors who reside in facilities managed or affiliated with the Housing Authority to provide free services such as health education workshops, flu shots, and health & eye screenings. Also, working with the Union County and City of Elizabeth Office on Aging, as well as other partners, HACE refers interested residents to participate in other classes such as social, cultural, and recreational activities and programs. In addition, the staff is available to assist with information and referrals for services such as transportation to medical facilities, home health aides, durable medical equipment, and adult medical day care programs. Finally, assistance is provided to residents in addressing a variety of other financial and personal concerns (i.e. medical bill advocacy, NJ SNAP Re-Certifications, Lifeline Communication Re-Certifications, etc.).
- In partnership with Groundwork Elizabeth’s Come Grow With Us! initiative, HACE staff work during the spring and summer to access services to create and/or support existing vegetable gardens at our public housing and senior sites. Groundwork Elizabeth also offers summer employment to youth between the ages of 14 and 18.
- The Housing Authority of the City of Elizabeth, which manages the Resident Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) Grant Program, partners with Prevention Links to provide service coordinators to assess residents’ needs and enable them to utilize supportive services and resident empowerment resources available in the community. The goal is for residents to increase their earned income, reduce or eliminate the need for welfare assistance, and make progress toward economic independence and housing self-sufficiency. By meeting professional, financial, health, and educational goals, residents have the tools to become more self-sufficient. The ROSS program is also provided at the Bayway Family Success Center and 250 2nd Street, Elizabeth.