By Assemblyman Alex Sauickie

Several weeks ago, I read a news item about an Ocean County man named Paul Hulse and his efforts to build a sober living place for homeless veterans. A veteran friend of his had taken his own life while suffering from psychological harms related to his military service, and Paul wanted to help others avoid the same fate.

As the newest member of the New Jersey General Assembly and its Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee, I wanted to speak with this man and find out more about him and his efforts. On a human level, I wanted to meet this compassionate and driven person, and see if there was any way to get help for his good works.

Within a few days, I had the opportunity to sit with Paul and members of his team. What I heard was an education indeed.

Paul and his group, Just Believe, Inc., were not “only” working on the sober living home. The nonprofit runs a thrift store to raise money, helps people who’ve lost or are about to lose their homes find temporary housing, and runs the Code Blue program in the county.

But that’s not all. Paul and top members of his team said they had fallen on hard times themselves, and had managed to overcome some very difficult obstacles. They committed themselves to helping others now that they are in a better place in their own lives. They are truly inspiring people.

They offered to show me their operations in person, so we promptly settled on a date and time. Soon, I was standing in a two-story building in a local park, where Paul showed me a roomful of neatly organized temporary beds, a space for eating, games and socializing, and closets full of food and supplies. This was the Code Blue facility.

Thanks to Paul, I learned that Code Blue is a county-based program that provides emergency warm spaces for homeless people when it’s particularly cold outside. Stays there must be temporary because continuous use requires stricter standards that apply to permanent shelters. Code Blue was originally run in several counties under varying rules, but the state enacted uniform rules in 2017.

Under that law, Code Blue shelters could only be used when temperatures fell to 25 degrees, or 32 degrees with precipitation, or when the wind chill temperature fell to zero degrees for at least two hours. Two-and-a-half years later, the law was changed so they can be used at 32 degrees regardless of precipitation, but with the same wind chill standard.

Paul told me his nonprofit received grants from the county and from Toms River Township. What about the state, I asked. When local governments recognize and endorse life-saving humanitarian works by a local nonprofit, you’d think the state – with its much greater resources – should chip in. But it hadn’t.

So I drafted legislation to create a state matching grant program. Under the bill, when a nonprofit receives a grant from a local government to support a Code Blue program, that non-profit could apply to the state for a 100 percent matching grant. The organization would have to provide information on its activities and finances, and on how it plans to use the money.

You hear a lot about political fighting in Trenton, and sometimes it’s necessary, but common ground can still be found. From across the political aisle, Assemblywoman Carol Murphy has joined me to push for this grant program, and I expect support from her party in the state Senate as well.

Unfortunately, as I write this a Code Blue alert has come out from the state. It’s time to make sure the people work- ing in the community to keep people safe and warm in winter have the resources to help as many as possible.

Alex Sauickie is a lifelong Jackson resident who represents his home town and 13 other towns in the State Assembly.

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Note: This opinion piece originally appeared in The Jackson Times by Jersey Shore Online in its publication dated February 11, 2023.