Toms River, NJ – For years, the recreation building at Toms River’s Riverwood Park has been used each winter to house the homeless during cold winter days. That was under a program called “Code Blue,” which ran from November through March of each year. Now, Mayor Rodrick said that the shelter has been operating illegally, outside of the terms of a lease agreement enacted by the previous mayor and council.
For years, officials from Just Believe, Inc. claimed they had been allowed to operate the facility year-round by previous Mayor Maurice “Mo” Hill,
This year, after taking office, Mayor Dan Rodrick advised Just Believe that they must start adhering to the terms of their lease. Instead, Rodrick claims that the organization had run an ‘illegal shelter’ in the middle of one of the township’s biggest public parks, next to a playground, basketball courts, and soccer fields.
Rodrick is accusing Just Believe, a local nonprofit, of running an unauthorized homeless shelter in the town’s Riverwood Park Building. According to the mayor, the original deal was for the building to be used as a warming center—a temporary refuge for homeless residents of Toms River during extreme cold.
But things have escalated.
Rodrick said he had no intention of terminating the Code Blue shelter this winter, but said the group did not have any authority to use the building all year long.
Last night at the town council meeting, ranking officials from Just Believe were tripped up on their words about whether or not they were using the building without permission. At first, they denied it, saying it was just used for storage. Then they said they had only been using the building for meetings, which was not a condition of their lease with the township.
Later, they said they were always allowed to operate there under former Mayor Hill.
The mayor claims that Just Believe expanded the operation beyond what was agreed upon. He says the organization brought in nearly 300 homeless individuals from other parts of Monmouth and Ocean County to the shelter.
This unexpected influx put the group on the town’s radar, especially since the building was supposed to be cleared out for a local radio club. In the summer, the park is active with children and families all season long.
Rodrick said the shelter’s intent was to provide relief for the homeless in Toms River, not to serve the entire state’s homeless population.
Former Toms River Councilman Terrance Turnbach was the key official in this movement. Turnbach, who once said he would house the homeless in his backyard, instead repurposed the recreational center to operate the shelter in the building at the park.
Rodrick said that to operate a full-time homeless shelter; the organization would have to go through the same planning and zoning board process as any other resident or entity seeking to repurpose any structure in town.
Instead, under Turnbach and Hill’s leadership, the organization was allowed to bypass the town’s planning and zoning laws,.
Worse, residents who opposed the shelter in their neighborhood were left powerless to complain about a shelter that technically and legally did not exist.
When the town locked the building to hand it over to an amateur radio club permitted to use it in the warmer months, they didn’t expect any issues.
After all, Just Believe supposedly cleared out their things in March. However, the mayor claims that group members broke into the building instead of sorting out the situation with the township and started making noise on social media. The mayor believes these posts were politically motivated, accusing the town of shutting down the shelter without justification.
The town insists they didn’t terminate the agreement with Just Believe but merely reminded them of the terms. But the mayor is now adamant that Toms River won’t become a “depository” for homeless individuals from other counties, especially given concerns about drug addiction and mental illness among the homeless population.
Adding fuel to the fire is the revelation that a large homeless camp has been growing in the woods of Toms River, possibly housing up to 100 individuals.
That homeless camp grew under Hill and Turnbach’s term in office and went unchecked by the local government despite several incidents involving police response.
The mayor is blaming the previous administration for letting the situation spiral out of control, but he’s also indicating that a recent Supreme Court decision could give the town new legal authority to address these issues, including the makeshift tent city operating in Downtown Toms River.
These days, homeless residents are a common sight loitering downtown.
Finally, there’s the threat of legal action against Just Believe for allegedly getting involved in local politics. The mayor hints that the nonprofit could be reported to the IRS if they don’t avoid political matters, given that 501(c)(3) organizations are prohibited from participating in political campaigns.
He accuses Believe of being tied to the now-ousted political group led by Hill and Turnbach behind the scenes. Since 2019, Just Believe went from under $50,000 in annual revenue to nearly $350,000 in 2022, according to the organization’s latest available public tax return.
Over 30% of the group’s donations are spent on salaries, including President Paul Hulse’s $52,442 salary as of 2022. The group spends $47,000 on other salaries.
Just Believe criticized the township’s decision to enforce the lease agreement between their organization and the township.
The group said on Wednesday, they were not operating a shelter inside the building during the summer months.
