Jeffrey Wild Works with Toms River Mayor and Nonprofits to Relocate Individuals Experiencing Homelessness

Lowenstein Sandler partner Jeffrey Wild, who also serves as a trustee for the New Jersey Coalition to End Homelessness (NJCEH), worked closely with government officials and non-profit agencies to facilitate a public-private initiative in Toms River that recently relocated numerous individuals experiencing homelessness from an encampment in the woods to temporary housing.

The encampment, located Winding River Park, had served as a refuge since 2022 for over 100 individuals, including the elderly veterans, and individuals with disabilities. It has now been closed, and all the residents are now in temporary housing

Wild, who provided pro bono representation for 26 individuals who had been living outside, called the agreement with the municipality "a great example of government and private sector teamwork." He told the Asbury Park Press: "As of today, every one of these men and women have been offered an opportunity to get out of the woods, and into guaranteed and safe indoor housing for no less than half a year;" adding: "During that half a year, these dozens of individuals are also being provided a pathway to permanent housing, by applying for permanent housing through any available rental-assistance programs."

Wild has represented unhoused people in similar matters in Lakewood, Atlantic City and Cape May. He hopes that this initiative in Toms River will inspire broader change, telling Jersey Shore Online that "the agreement we reached with Toms River is an example of how New Jersey municipalities can't criminalize homelessness… And need to fight the real problem, the lack of affordable housing."

Despite the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, which held that imposing fines, issuing tickets, and arresting people experiencing homelessness does not violate the Eighth Amendment, Wild says that "New Jersey's laws are relatively strong and offer significant protections for individuals without housing ..[and] prohibit the criminalization of homelessness." He praises the solution found by the Toms River mayor Daniel Roderick in collaboration with such nonprofits as CSPNJ and Habcore, noting: "With the year-end holidays almost upon us, this is a story that should warm anyone's heart."

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