Over 130 residents, community leaders, service providers and more tell Piscataway to focus on “Housing, Not Handcuffs!”

PISCATAWAY – Dozens of organizations working in housing, homelessness prevention, civil rights, faith leadership, and social services around New Jersey have signed on to a public letter urging the Piscataway Township Council to withdraw a series of proposals that would impose fines or jail time
on residents who have no alternative but to sleep or store possessions in public areas. Groups including the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ, the National Homeless Law Center, NJ Coalition to End Domestic Violence, Supportive Housing Association of NJ, Volunteers of America – Northern NJ, Bridges, Inc., Collaborative Support Programs of NJ, NJ Coalition to End Homelessness, Piscataway Township Education Association, Reformed Church of Highland Park and many more, join over 100 individuals to call on Piscataway to work with people experiencing homelessness and service providers to address homelessness and housing insecurity in the Middlesex County Township.

The proposals, scheduled for consideration at the December 2, 2025 Township Council meeting, would authorize police to order people experiencing homelessness to leave town or face trespass charges carrying fines up to $2,000 and/or up to 90 days in jail. The measures would also limit hotel/motel stays to 31 days and require private lodging businesses to provide guest lists to the police upon request.

“Our communities need housing, not handcuffs,” said the sign-on organizations in the joint letter. “Criminalizing poverty pushes people further into crisis and does nothing to address the root causes of homelessness.”

“Every person deserves dignity, safety, and a place to call home because housing is a human right,” said Staci Berger, President and CEO of the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey. “Punishing people for being poor is unjust and ineffective. Piscataway has an opportunity to choose compassion and collaborate with partners across the state on strategies that actually end homelessness.”

Advocates warn that the proposals would deepen the harm facing the township’s most vulnerable residents at a time when federal housing support is being reduced, and national policies are shifting toward punitive responses such as sanctioned encampments. Piscataway currently provides no municipal homelessness assistance, Code Blue warming centers, or emergency programs for residents experiencing homelessness.

Organizations note that similar ordinances introduced in other New Jersey municipalities including Paterson, Haddonfield, and Morristown, were withdrawn after community opposition, while places such as Summit and Toms River have moved forward with enforcement measures that advocates say are costly, ineffective, and harmful. The Piscataway Township Council will meet in-person and by Zoom on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, at 7:30 PM, where members may revisit the agenda for the following week. Members of the public are invited to attend and urge the Council to remove this ordinance from consideration. The agenda, including log-in directions for Zoom, is now available and any changes made by the Township will be posted on its website.

Following the 2024 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, municipalities across the country have begun advancing policies that fine or arrest individuals for sleeping outdoors, even when shelter space is insufficient. Advocates emphasize that such measures do not reduce homelessness but instead entangle people in the criminal justice system, making it harder to secure housing, employment, or services.

The coalition’s letter urges Piscataway’s elected leaders to instead partner with homeless service providers, expand affordable housing, and pursue evidence-based solutions like Rapid Rehousing and Housing First.

“Punishing people simply for having nowhere else to go is not compassion, it is cruelty,” the letter states. “Piscataway should lead with dignity, care, and real solutions, not fines and jail time.”

To view the letter, visit tinyurl.com/pwayhomelessord.

About the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ
The Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey is the statewide association of more than 275 community development corporations, individuals and other organizations that support the creation of affordable homes, economic opportunities, and strong communities. For more information on the Network, visit www.hcdnnj.org.