---

Christian Cortez, 20, who grew up in Asbury Park, will be among the first occupants of Rights of Passage, a Covenant House-operated, transitional home due to open in a few weeks on Prospect Avenue.

While finding a place to call home became a challenge after his mother’s death a year ago, the high school graduate went on to complete Interfaith Neighbors’ Kula Café paid on the job training program.

Through help from Interfaith Youth Specialist Meg Flores, for whom the new home is dedicated, Cortez was able to get a job at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune and acceptance to the new transitional program.  

“Being here is a life changing opportunity for me,” he said of being accepted into the 18 month transitional program. “Thanks to everyone here who made this possible.’’

This was the second such gathering held to recognize those who helped bring the Interfaith Neighbors project, aimed at helping homeless men ages 18 to 21, to fruition.

“Our young people here are brimming with hope and promise,” said Kevin Ryan, president and CEO of International Covenant House, said of the semi-independent program that requires its tenants to seek stable employment and/or return to school.

Architects Stephen Carlidge and Andrea Fitzpatrick of Shore Point Architecture in Ocean Grove are credited for creating a design that made creative use of two story home’s footprint.

The home boasts five secured bedrooms outfitted with en suites and there two sets of washer/dryer units on each side of the second floor landing. The ground floor large kitchen is outfitted with secured lockers to store an individual’s non perishable food, a large island and plenty of cabinets. There is a communal living room and dining space adjacent to the 24-hour manned office. The on site garage is outfitted with secured individual storage spaces, and will include a bicycle rack and an oversized freezer for added food storage.

Covenant House began working with the city’s young homeless population in 2012 and soon learned many of them did not want to leave Asbury Park to be in a Covenant House transitional home in another city, said Dave Hall, associate executive director of Covenant House NJ.

“It was an important truth that led to the new Rights of Passage in Asbury,” he said.

At the same time, Meg Flores had been identifying the need for housing for some of the young people through Interfaith Neighbors New Jersey Youth Corps program and its Kula Café training program.

And although the state opted pull support, thereby shuttering the local Youth Corps program, a partnership with Covenant House grew.

Paul McEvily, co-executive director of Interfaith Neighbors, presented Flores with a plaque calling the new house “Meg’s Place” because of her dedication and persistence in telling her bosses that Interfaith needed to do something for young people who lacked stability in their housing, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit said.

The $400,000 home was constructed through investments from the Community Development Office of Monmouth County for HOME grants, Interfaith’s Neighborhood Revitalization corporate investors, a tax Credit program fostered through an ongoing partnership with New Jersey Natural Gas, whose employees pitched in to create the landscaping, McEvily said.

In 2015, the City of Asbury Park awarded Interfaith Neighbors a $50,000 Community Development Block Grant [CDBG] in support of the project. 

“One of the main concerns of the City is helping our young adults become productive stakeholders in Asbury Park,” CDBG Director Cassandra Dickerson said in a written statement. “This home provides the base for that to become a reality. Growing up in Asbury Park has allowed me the opportunity to see the importance of making sure that our young adults have a chance at a successful life.”

Jim White, Executive Director of Covenant House New Jersey, in thanking Asbury Park Mayor John Moor for ‘stepping up and being a part of this,’ said “You helped make this happen.”

Covenant House’s operational budget is supported by a $123,000 Impact 100 – Jersey Coast grant.

McEvily said Interfaith Neighbors has funding in place for a planned Rights of Passage II, a mirrored facility for young women that will be located on an adjacent lot.

In the meantime Cortez said he plans to return to Brookdale Community College, in pursuit of a developmental psychology degree.

To date, Interfaith Neighbors has constructed well over 40 detached, single-family, affordable homes throughout the city’s west side, with 39 of them still owned and occupied by the original home buyer or family, McEvily said.

[Photos in part courtesy of Interfaith Neighbors]

——————————————————————————————————————–

Follow the Asbury Park Sun on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Asbury Park Sun is affiliated with the triCityNews newspaper.

---

---