The Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless serves the immediate needs of the homeless and near-homeless by empowering people with the tools needed to transition to safe, affordable, permanent housing. Together with our sister agency, St. Joseph Social Service Center, the Coalition has developed innovative strategies to empower the homeless, offering wraparound services to holistically address needs. Created in 1981 in response to the surge of homeless families and individuals in our community, the ECTHTH was one of the first organizations to advocate on behalf of the homeless in NJ. Since then, the number of homeless has increased due to a lack of both affordable housing and jobs that pay a living wage. Our Programs ■ Project Gatekeeper: Emergency and on-going case management, community education, rental assistance and more with the goal to move individuals and families out of homelessness and into self-sustainability. ■ Operation Warm Heart: an emergency shelter program runs from December through March and works with local churches to give homeless individuals and families temporary emergency shelter during the coldest months of the year. ■ Bernice’s Place: Homelessness strikes everyone including families with children. Bernice's Place offers homeless and at-risk youth a safe place to go after school and during the summer months. It is the first homeless children’s program in NJ. ■ Hospitality House offers working homeless families transitional housing units and supportive services to help move them out of homelessness and into permanent housing. With increases in the number of homeless adults and children, the Coalition endeavors not only to assist the individual, but also to alter the circumstances of all homeless, working to preserve human dignity and meet the collective interests of the homeless population. We work both for and with the marginalized members of our community so everyone may be empowered.