A conference on meeting the mental and behavioral health needs of unhoused New Jersey residents delivered revelations and solutions to curb a growing homelessness crisis. While adults comprise the majority of persons in need of safe, accessible, and well-maintained living spaces, unsheltered youth face daily challenges that without intervention will compromise their lives as adults. A forum entitled “Meeting the Mental and Behavioral Health Needs of Unhoused New Jerseyans”, included Princeton University‘s Sebastián Ramirez, director of Service Focus, Pace Center for Civic Enagement, as moderator. “On any given night several thousand New Jersey kids spend nights in shelters. And, we don’t have a system to take care of them,” Connie Mercer, CEO of NJ Coalition to End Homelessness, said recently during a think tank inside Whig Hall on the campus of Princeton University. Mercer added her voice and experiences to conversations and call to action, in partnership with the School of Public and International Affairs in NJ (SPIA in NJ) and Eviction Lab. The event underscored an urgent need to invest in addressing the mental and behavioral health needs of unhoused New Jerseyans, particularly children. NJCEH discussed the results of two reports, including one written in partnership with the Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness (ICPH) on the current experience of homeless children within the Children’s System of Care, and the preliminary findings of a pilot study the Coalition conducted by placing behavioral health services on-site at shelters. Linda Bazerjian, managing director of communications and policy for ICPH, addressed numerous perceptions and challenges faced by unhoused populations, especially as parents. “There’s a stigma to homelessness in and of itself, never mind asking for help in such a vulnerable area as mental behavioral health, for your child. When you are in shelter, you feel bad enough as a mom, or as a dad, that it’s your mistakes causing this impact on your child. You barely want to admit that you’re homeless let alone that your child,” may face behavioral learning issues in school,” Bazerjian explained. “And you don’t want to add another label — homeless, mentally ill, etc. — there’s a lot of this deficit language” that coincides with being unhoused. Of course, when persons arrive at the Rescue Mission there first needs involve receiving a meal, shower, and a safe place to rest. “I’ve never had a client arrive at the shelter and ask, “And where is that behavioral health specialist I’m supposed to meet with,” said Mary Gay Abbot Young, retired CEO Rescue Mission of Trenton, and serving as a consultant for Mercer’s newest effort. Abbott-Young added levity to a critical homelessness situation that needs federal support — more space for long-term family stays, expanded financial intervention, and certainly an on-site behavioral specialist. A brochure produced by NJCEH and ICPH identified a shelter stay as a potentially perfect opportunity to address their children’s mental health needs. Frequently, these stays allow a first opportunity to receive consistent care from a mental health professional, rather than seeking care in an emergency room. Familiarity and trust stand as key variables in discussing sensitive matters as parents and children are much more open to guidance from shelter staff they see everyday than a stranger, in this case, an outside mental health provider. Bazerjian noted that health care professionals have created a blueprint for installation of on-site mental health care providers. “So there’s lots of models out there that people in New Jersey can look at. Everything does not have to be created from scratch,” Bazerjian said. Mercer and other panelists including Kellie Abbott, a consultant for NJCEH, Kenneth Smith, a certified peer recovery specialist and former client of the Rescue Mission Trenton, and DuEwa Edwards-Dickson, chief of Supportive Services Rescue Mission of Trenton, expressed an urgency to add mental health services to shelters and to understand the mental health challenges faced by unhoused children. “Our kids should simply be put at the top of the list and receive the help when their families are amenable to getting the help. And, it will make all the difference in the world” Mercer said. “These children, who are victims of unspeakable traumas — homeless kids have twice the Adverse Childhood Experiences scores than other children in poverty. Without help, these kids could be forced into a lifetime of dysfunctional hell. If we let that happen, knowing that there is help out there for them, that there could be help out there for them, then we are complicit.”