Toms River homeless advocates fear mayor is trying to squeeze out warming center, camps

TOMS RIVER - A warming center for the homeless at Riverwood Park is in jeopardy following a dispute between Mayor Daniel Rodrick and local nonprofit Just Believe, the group that has been operating the Code Blue shelter.

Paul Hulse, chief executive officer of Just Believe, sparred with Rodrick at the Aug. 28 council meeting, at which the mayor accused Hulse of being "very unprofessional."

"You organized dozens of people to come here, and never came to talk to me," Rodrick said to Hulse. He was referring to several employees and volunteers of Just Believe, who, along with at least one person who is homeless, came to speak at the meeting about the importance of the warming center.

"You called me for seven months, Dan, to help you with people here," Hulse responded. Earlier Hulse said that people spoke out because of their compassion for the homeless. "Tonight you guys got to see the passion from my employees and volunteers," Hulse said. "… Maybe they cursed, they said bad words. They said it because they care about our community."

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After the meeting, the mayor accused Just Believe of making "false claims on politically motivated media pages that we were shutting them down." He also claimed without evidence that Just Believe was running a homeless shelter at the Riverwood Park building, although no people without homes have stayed at the building since Code Blue ended in March.

Toms River allows Code Blue shelters for the homeless to open when the temperature falls to 35 degrees, regardless of precipitation, compared with state law that mandates shelters open when temperatures fall below freezing or wind chills will be zero degrees or less for at least two hours. The township adopted the higher temperature threshold in 2019.

In a letter sent Aug. 9 to Just Believe, Assistant Township Attorney Peter S. Pascarella claimed the the organization has been allowing people to stay overnight even when the temperatures are higher than that, and that the group was also using the Riverwood Park building to store items and to hold meetings on a year-round basis, beyond the scope of its initial 2019 agreement with the township.

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You can read the letter at the bottom of this story.

Hulse said that Rodrick told him in February that Just Believe could continue using the Riverwood Park building during warmer temperatures for monthly meetings and to sort and store items for a gift auction fundraiser. On Aug. 1, Just Believe discovered the building's locks had been changed, he said.

He released a recording of a February meeting with Rodrick and other township officials in which the mayor said, "If you want to be open longer, I'm not watching. If you want to be open at warmer temperatures, I'm not watching." But Hulse said his organization has not been housing people beyond the Code Blue season, as its insurance would not cover the extra days.

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Hulse said he has repeatedly tried to arrange a meeting with the mayor, and produced several emails to Rodrick that Hulse said went unanswered.

Rodrick claimed in a statement that, "Just Believe notified the township that they had cleared out their things in March to make room for the radio club. So when we changed the locks to give access to the radio club, we didn't expect to affect anyone. Rather than contacting the township or coming into the town hall, members of Just Believe broke into the building."

The radio club has long met in the Riverwood Park recreation building when Code Blue was not in operation.

"Prior to our last two council meetings, Just Believe wasn't on our radar," Rodrick claimed. He said a Just Believe counselor, Sheena Horrigan, told him that "that last year alone, Just Believe brought 288 homeless individuals from all over Monmouth and Ocean County into our Riverwood Park Building."

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Just Believe's own statistics tell a different story. During the 2023-2024 Code Blue season, which lasts from Nov. 1 through March, 189 unduplicated guests received shelter at Riverwood Park and an additional family warming center the organization operates with Ocean's Harbor House. Of that number, 67 people, including families, found permanent shelter, 11 entered rehab or detox, seven found employment, 11 had their identification restored, and five went to sober-living facilities. The shelters were open 114 nights.

Twelve different organizations visited the shelters to offer help with mental health or drug abuse counseling, restoring identification, obtaining housing and insurance, and other assistance such as providing flu shots, according to Just Believe.

Rodrick also criticized the growth of a homeless camp in Winding River Park, which he contended that "the prior administration allowed … to fester and grow." The mayor said as many as 100 homeless people are living on township land in the park, a camp that is overseen by Pastor Steve Brigham of Destiny's Bridge, an advocacy group for the homeless.

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"Toms River will not be a depository for Monmouth and Ocean counties' homeless on my watch!" Rodrick said. "After learning about the camp and Just Believe's activities, I cannot in good conscience allow them to continue brining the state's homeless into Toms River. The vast majority of the homeless are drug-addicted or mentally ill. It is a safety hazard for our residents and their children."

He also cast doubt on Just Believe's nonprofit status, noting the IRS bars nonprofit groups from participating in politics. The law does not bar individuals from such groups from making political statements.

A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision allows municipalities to ban the homeless from camping and sleeping in public places, even if they have nowhere else to go. That decision could clear the way for the township to remove individuals from the camp in the woods.

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Just Believe, meanwhile, is looking for another location to operate its Code Blue program, Hulse said. So far this year, the group has helped 171 people find housing. Hulse last week dropped off two mugs at town hall labeled "Santa Doesn't Believe in You Either," what he described as "participation trophies."

"We get exhausted dealing with people that don't understand we are fighting for the homeless population," Hulse posted on Just Believe's Facebook page. "… We would like to say 'thank you' to everyone who continues to support us. … Some things have to come to an end so things can open up."

Just Believe by Dennis Carmody on Scribd

Jean Mikle covers Toms River, Seaside Heights and several other Ocean County towns. She's also passionate about the Shore's storied music scene. Contact her: @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Toms River mayor, homeless advocates fight over warming center, camps