Summer 2025 Internship

Overview

Coming Home of Middlesex County Inc. (CHM or Coming Home) is the County’s non-profit organization that works to build an efficient system of ending homelessness in the County. Please see https://www.cominghomemiddlesex.org/

It was formed through a partnership of Middlesex County and philanthropic organizations, and has, since 2012, been serving as a leader in preventing and ending homelessness in the County by fostering collaborations and forming public-private partnerships among all stakeholders to ensure that people have a stable place to call home and connections to community resources to provide them the choices and opportunities to pursue healthy lifestyles. We have a dedicated staff, committed volunteers and a talented, Board of Directors willing to roll up their sleeves and work.

In addition to running the system programs of the Homeless Management Information System and the Coordinated Entry and Assessment System for the County, we developed, in 2015, a program to catalyze the creation of affordable housing for homeless persons. We create joint ventures with affordable housing developers, identify properties, create the financial stack, assemble the development team and renovate buildings or build from the ground up small apartment complexes comprised of 6- 12 units. We call the program Homes for All.

On March 18, 2024, the affordable housing legislation known jointly as Senate Bill S50 and Assembly Bill A4 passed both houses of the legislature. Governor Murphy signed the bill into law on March 20, 2024. The new legislation overhauls the process that municipalities undertake to establish and plan for their constitutionally mandated affordable housing obligation. Most notably, this legislation formally abolishes COAH while transferring its functions to the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and Housing Mortgage and Finance Agency (HMFA). As a result, the legislation has codified the method for calculating regional and municipal affordable housing needs and returned most of the process from the Courts to state administrative departments. The DCA has been charged with the responsibility of calculating regional and municipal affordable housing obligations for the entire State of New Jersey.

In the coming months, Coming Home will be reaching out to each municipality in Middlesex County to set up a meeting to discuss their individual 4th-round affordable housing obligation, as well as any residual obligations from prior rounds. You will be assisting Coming Home’s Director of Housing Development in this initiative to help the municipalities meet their official obligations and Coming Home create more affordable housing for homeless persons.

• Skills needed: Excel spreadsheets, good communication and analytic skills,  basic civics (government structure, how legislation is created).

• Responsibilities: Data collection, research and report writing are the primary responsibilities of the internship. There may be some contact with the municipalities to schedule meetings once data collection and research are complete and complied into a report.

• Start date and end date are negotiable but prefer as soon as possible, 8 weeks preferred. Hours 20-25 hours a week can be hybrid. Our office hours are 8:30-4:00pm Monday to Thursday and 8:30-2:00 on Friday, we can work with candidate on their availability.

A small stipend is available to interested students. Please contact Eileen O’Donnell at eodonnell@cominghomemiddlesex.org