NJ Transit President & CEO Kris Kolluri recently joined the Newark Alliance, Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka and his Office of Homeless Services, Prudential Financial, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersy, RWJ Barnabas Health, County of Essex, and the State of New Jersy to announce the “Gateway to Hope” program.

A Program to Help the Homeless

The program builds on the success of the City of Newark’s “Path Home” and is a focused set of initiatives aimed to reach, stabilize, and house residents in need near Newark Penn Station.

“Gateway of Hope” will serve as a model for future improvements at other NJ Transit Stations, and Newark Penn Station will become the “Home of” Prudential Financial in a sponsorship agreement.

“We all have a shared responsibility in New Jersey to ensure our residents have access to the resources and help they need to thrive and live healthy, productive lives,” said NJDOT Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chair Fran O’Connor. “I am proud to join with the Newark Alliance and our partners in a focused effort to reach out to those most in need at Newark Penn Station.”

The Newark Alliance coordinated partnerships with public, private, and non-profit entities to create a dedicated, cross-disciplinary medical outreach team to serve people experiencing homelessness at Newark Penn Station. The effort aims to address medical, housing and other needs to get help to those who need it most.

"Gateway of Hope" Initiatives

The specific initiatives include: 

• Deploying three-person medical teams consisting of a nurse, social worker and outreach worker, in collaboration with New Jersey Transit Police and the City of Newark, to assess and provide on-the-spot mental health care and substance abuse disorder treatment and to connect unhoused individuals to housing and other services.

• Supporting Mayor Baraka’s new “PATH HOME” housing program by providing funding for an expansion of wrap-around support services for 200 Newark Housing Authority transitional housing units for chronically homeless Newark residents.

• Deploying 100 HOME tenant-based rental assistance vouchers for persons experiencing homelessness, committed by the New Jersey department of Community Affairs in support of this effort.

• The City, in partnership with NJDCA, NJCRI and others, is set to open the state-of-the-art 24/7 Shiela Y. Oliver Drop In resource center in late-2025. The center will provide medical, housing and workforce services and address immediate needs for unsheltered residents such as showers, laundry and food services, as well as rest lounges and computer stations.

• Launching a “Home of” sponsorship of Newark Penn Station with Prudential Financial, which has been headquartered in Newark since its founding in 1875.

These initiatives are a part of NJ TRANSIT’s larger effort to improve customer experience, which was announced earlier this year. Efforts include increased customer service ambassadors, modernizing the agency’s fleet of buses and trains, new lavender-scented cleaning products, and touchscreen kiosks with travel information.