Provide Supplies for the New Brunswick Unhoused

New Brunswick, NJ

Rutgers University expansion, increased student housing, nationwide inflation, and the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to a massive shortage of affordable housing in and around New Brunswick. New Brunswick government and RU officials have consistently shown a lack of compassion for the unhoused population of NB, pushing back against attempts by the greater NJ government to implement programs to combat structural violence against the unhoused. New Brunswick’s refusal to comply with the Jan. 2020 strengthening of Code Blue by Phil Murphy (a law which required warmed shelters be opened in temperatures below 32 degrees) left the unhoused of the city suffering in below-freezing temperatures at the height of the pandemic. Hostile (anti-homeless) architecture installed by Rutgers University throughout the College Ave. and Livingston campuses also served to eliminate shelter options for unhoused people in New Brunswick. The open discrimination of the unhoused by both the university and the city disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minorities, drug users, and the mentally ill. New Brunswick is and has always been a place of diversity and community, and no amount of racist, classist, and ableist bureaucracy can dismantle that.

Along with the Teacher’s Lownge show house, I am endeavoring to raise funds and collect material donations to create basic care packages for the unhoused people of New Brunswick and Highland Park. These care packages are set to include:

-a lightweight backpack

-socks and underwear

-basic hygiene supplies (soap, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste, baby wipes, a washcloth, deodorant, a hairbrush, pads/tampons, nail clippers, lotion, tweezers)

-collapsible water bottle

-basic weather gear (sunscreen, UV sunglasses, light windbreaker/raincoat)

-gift cards

-laundry detergent

-tylenol/ibuprofen

-hand sanitizer/sanitizer wipes

-small Tupperware containers

-semi-perishable snacks (protein bars and shakes, etc.)

Donations of the aforementioned items, as well as winter gear, are highly appreciated, in addition to direct funds. These donations can be picked up, or dropped off at a private address. Please DM @evaskeeva or @theteacherslownge on Instagram for dropoff and pickup information.

All receipts will be posted and 100% of donations will directly benefit the unhoused population of New Brunswick.