Category Archives: News

Anchor House Provides a Safe Space for Adolescents, Young Adults Experiencing Homelessness

By Rebecca Heath

Ever since its 1978 establishment, Trenton-based nonprofit Anchor House has strived to serve as a community safe haven for children and young adults experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness.

Though it began as just a shelter, the organization has since grown to encompass a wide range of programs and services, from trauma-informed counseling to life skills and education assistance.

To fulfill its mission of supporting more than 1,000 youth and families each year, Outreach Services Director Ben Thornton said the nonprofit relies heavily on collaborative, community efforts.

“We have to incorporate intelligent partnering,” Thornton said. “We have to bring the resources of the community together and learn to work within the community to raise awareness for youth experiencing homelessness…and to make sure that the young people themselves know where to find resources.”

Though a majority of the organization’s services are designed for local youth, Thornton said the stigma surrounding homelessness often discourages displaced young people from seeking essential resources.

In order to combat this systemic obstacle, Anchor House assembled an outreach team that aims to inform this population about “what they are experiencing and where those resources are for them to get back on the right path,” Thornton said.

For temporary housing crises, Anchor House provides a 30-day shelter placement to young people who have been removed from or have voluntarily left their homes.

The shelter, which is located on Centre Street in Trenton, lies next door to their transitional living program. This residential facility houses individuals facing homelessness who have recently entered adulthood and are no longer eligible for foster care, yet still require support as they transition to independent living.

“They all live in the same home but they have their individual rooms, and there they learn some really critical life skills,” Thornton explained. “They get therapeutic services, mental health services, and they start to basically stabilize in a program like that and start learning life skills and everything that will take them forward.”

To accommodate young adults who have outgrown the supervised living model, Anchor House launched their “Anchor Line” program, which provides each participant with their own apartment — without the burden of paying rent.

“This is where they are learning to live alone,” Thornton said. “They’re learning to incorporate those life skills, running their daily lives, and getting ready to be able to pay rent and to handle leases and work with landlords.”

At each stage of housing support, Thornton said counselors are tasked with helping their residents achieve self-sufficiency through building their support network and teaching them how to access resources within their communities.

In an effort to create a platform for their clients to provide input and share their experiences as they navigate their path to self-sufficiency, the organization established a youth advisory council in 2014. This empowering initiative offers opportunities to build leadership skills, network with other individuals facing similar struggles and invoke meaningful community change.

“This is where we give the young people in our services a chance to tell their story if they choose to,” Thornton said. “And to build community with other young people from other programs so they can understand the diversity of placements and the trajectory of where they may want to go.”

The Shop Reopens to Provide Aid to TCNJ Students, Members of the Mercer County Community

By Jahsaun Blackshear

In the modern world, countless people are experiencing hardships. There are students facing a lack of resources that are not being properly fulfilled. The U.S. fights against hunger and for the fulfillment of the needs of communities. In New Jersey, various volunteers, donation centers and fundraising organizations are dedicated to ending hunger. The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) has stepped up to create a way for students and community members who are struggling to afford sufficient food.

Following the Covid-19 pandemic, TCNJ reopened its food pantry, The Shop, which provides for the surrounding neighborhoods in Ewing and TCNJ students by offering food, utility assistance, TCNJ Student Emergency Fund and other necessities.

When asked what inspired her to be a part of The Shop, Case Manager Alexa Horvath said, “providing food to the campus and local community and helping to address at least one basic need.”

Because students’ main focus is on their academics, The Shop helps alleviate some students’ concerns surrounding food insecurity by providing basic necessities. The Shop’s mission of serving the community takes it one step closer to eradicating food insecurity on campus. According to The Shop’s website, nearly 30% to 40% of college students face some level of food insecurity. When asked about the impact The Shop has on the community, Horvath said, “Whether this is something that our community uses to help through a difficult time, or more regularly to help support their access to food, the amount of visitors that we have seen over a relatively short period of time seems to indicate that this has been a valuable resource.”

The Shop helps students on campus both academically and personally. It also helps with networking, meeting new people and gaining access to better resources.

Through providing food to the campus and local community, The Shop addresses at least one of their basic needs. The Shop’s staff wants everyone to know that “you can make a difference and help keep our shelves stocked by donating non-perishable items.”

Anyone wishing to donate to The Shop can do so by visiting give.tcnj.edu. Click “give now,” select fund: “The SHOP@TCNJ.” The Shop also has an Amazon registry where people can donate items to them.

The Shop is located at 700 Campus Town Drive, which is at TCNJ’s campus. Those seeking to connect with The Shop can also contact them at care@tcnj.edu and follow them on Instagram @theshop__tcnj.

WIC Works to Fulfill One of the Basic Needs of Children Up to Five Years Old in Mercer County

By Neyssa Deriphonse

Healthy food is one of the basic needs in life for a child to properly develop physically, mentally and emotionally.

Dr. Natasha Patterson, a public health faculty member at The College of New Jersey, participated in a project at the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) office in Ewing Township, which focused on mothers and breastfeeding. Part of the project was to educate mothers about the importance of breastfeeding with respect to malnutrition and food security.

WIC is a nutritional supplement program for mothers and children up to five years of age. Patterson said WIC assists parents in getting supplements for necessary nutrients for their kids.

“While they do not provide all of the food and nutrition for families, they provide a supplement…If the parents are not breastfeeding, they will provide formula. If the parents are breastfeeding, they will provide food for those parents to ensure that they have the nutrients needed to pass on to their infants,” Patterson said.

Women who become pregnant can immediately go to the WIC office to gain more insight on pregnancy. If the income guideline requirements are met, parents get the nutritional support needed for their health as well as their children.

“As soon as you find out you’re pregnant, you will meet with a nutritionist, and they will talk to you about your nutrition, give you funding in the form of checks or cards, and you go to the grocery store and there are approved items you can purchase,” Patterson said. Once the baby is born, the nutritionist also regulates the baby’s food intake.

Not having a working phone number or a fixed address can deter certain parents from taking advantage of these resources.

It is hard to get in contact with clients “if their phones get cut off or if there’s no phone number or an address for them,” Patterson said.

The application process can also pose a challenge to this community. “Most of the time the application is online. Some people use the library if they can,” she said.

And sometimes filling out applications on one’s phone is challenging. “It may not support the software program. Or if there’s an app, it may not support the app,” Patterson added.

Another challenge for Mercer County families is the increase in rent payments. Some parents can “no longer afford where they live.”

Patterson explained that the rising costs impact children’s education and their parents’ choices.

“Now, I’m choosing between my rent and groceries, I’m choosing between my rent and my health” she said.

Parents have to make tough decisions because they are choosing between necessities when their money is already limited.

Feeding America reported that 11.9% of children under 18 years of age faced food insecurity in Mercer County in 2020.

According to an article by North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC), food insecurity is also a form of trauma that can cause a child to develop an anxious relationship with food.

Some of the traumatic behaviors include eating quickly, hiding food, eating secretly or alone, eating large quantities of food and eating only familiar food.

“Ways to help children and teens self-regulate, and connect with their bodies and tune in to hunger and fullness cues include: Singing, making music, or music therapy, dancing, yoga, making art or art therapy,” the article states.

Patterson urges people to continue to raise awareness about WIC because so many children are food insecure.

“Schools are also filling the gaps by providing those free breakfast and free lunch programs as well as the summer breakfast and summer lunch programs,” she said.

She explained that food gets wasted because people are not aware of those programs.

“The word is not getting out about what’s available…we want people to take advantage of it…we want the solution to be systemic,” Patterson said.

The goal is to spread the news about resources available to eliminate systems that cause food insecurity among kids.

According to Patterson, raising awareness on resources accessible to mothers in the community will greatly benefit both mothers and children by embracing those advantages for a more adequate lifestyle.

Mercer County Library System provides free books to children in the community

By Neyssa Deriphonse

The Mercer County Library System is investing in future generations of their community as they provide free books and other assistance to youth.

Eboni Love, a supervising library assistant for the Youth Services Department at the Trenton Free Public Library, said they organize literature events, free book drives, stem projects and crafts, as well as host a variety of summer camps and after school programs. They also have computers and tablets for the children to use.

Although the library receives large donations, Love aims to purchase over ten thousand books for the Trenton community.

“First, I would distribute them to the daycares that I partner with, so each of the babies get two to three books to take home with them,” Love said.

The Trenton librarians also distribute books during community events and while hosting book fairs. Though they would “carry around two hundred to three hundred books” for those events, their goal is to provide more books to the community.

Why is there such a large push to provide books to the youth?

Love emphasized that those books “promote literacy at home, make reading normal, especially when there’s different books being read to them which are readily available at home.” She added that the books help children with reading comprehension, particularly when they match their interests, which makes them more willing to read.

Despite all these efforts, there are some lurking obstacles that prevent children from fully benefiting from those resources. Love explained that the lack of transportation can prevent parents from obtaining books for their children.

“Our obstacle that we face with getting the books out to the community is that numerous parents do not have transportation and we only have one library here in [Trenton],” she said. “So, if two or three people that are in my department cannot get out into the community to share the books, there’s no other way for these parents to get these resources that we have to offer.”

Though many people take advantage of the book fairs, Love said they could have reached many more if some parents had the means of transportation to get to their central location.

Parents being illiterate or lacking the time to read to their children are also barriers.

“You could work with your child at whatever level you are at because there’s always a book that could cater to whatever reading level that you’re on,” Love said.

She offered other options such as traditional audiobooks, DVD books and Youtube audiobooks.

“Even if you are not reading to the kids, other people reading to them are just as effective,” she said.

Regardless of the method, Love advised parents to read to their children whenever possible during the day.

“Even during a nap time or when you are cooking, read to them,” she said.

“At least try to make time, even if it is short, you do not have to spend thirty to forty minutes a day on literature. You could definitely read a five-minute quick book and it is still just as effective.”

To stress the importance of reading, Love shared her favorite quote by Dr. Seuss.

“The more that you read, the more things you’ll know, the more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

Post Covid-19: Trenton Area Soup Kitchen is successfully managing Adult Education, Work Preparedness Program

By Neyssa Deriphonse

The Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK)’s main objective is to provide fresh meals to patrons. It also runs the Adult Education and Work Preparedness program.

Adult Education provides literacy courses such as English as a Second Language (ESL), high school equivalency preparation and digital literacy. The digital literacy curriculum offers basic computer skills to patrons and enrolled students. TASK also has two labs which are used for recreational purposes.

The Work Preparedness Program readies students for job positions. It includes job search and resume writing training in addition to interview, time management, conflict and resolution workshops that benefit students’ career development.

TASK also connects with employers to host hiring drives each week. Mia Hart, who serves as the manager of the Adult Education and Work Preparedness program, shared that “companies such as Amazon and Fedex, UPS, Wayfare and various other agencies come in and hire on the spot.” Some other companies walk those interested through initial steps that would prepare them for job applications.

Hart explained that tutoring program volunteers are not required to have a background in teaching. “All volunteers are asked to be open minded, compassionate, patient, non-judgmental, flexible and adaptable,” she said. The patrons must be treated with care and feel safe during their learning experience so that they can celebrate every small step on their journey.

During the pandemic, the program transitioned to a virtual format. They acquired Google Workspace, which contains Google Classroom and Google Meet, in order to facilitate online classes.

It was a learning curve for the staff, tutors and students. Hart said they lost tutors given that some volunteers did not have the capacity to shift to a virtual platform. Existing students and those newly enrolled are paired with a tutor to complete their assignments virtually. Due to the convenience, some pairs remain one hundred percent virtual even today. TASK currently has options for in-person and hybrid tutoring services.

“It’s just an amazing program,” Hart said. “The peers and the way they encourage each other. The support of our volunteer tutors, donating their time and their hearts. Many of the pairings between tutors and students really evolve into friendships.”

Emilio’s Culinary Academy at TASK feeds the minds, stomachs of Trenton residents

By Brie Wells

At the Heart of the Trenton community lies the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK), which has been serving the city for over 40 years. With the mission of feeding those who are hungry in the local community, TASK provides thousands of meals to clients facing food insecurity and homelessness each week.

In addition to serving hot meals, TASK offers adult self-sufficiency programs to help improve clients’ quality of life. One of their most popular programs is Emilio’s Culinary Academy.

The academy was founded in February 2020 in conjunction with the Catalyst Kitchen Impact grant, which provides funding for culinary programs and soup kitchens that aid underserved communities. The purpose of the academy is to reach out to a population who may have difficulty entering the workforce and give members the opportunity to gain education and access to skills that will help them secure a better future.

The program is designed to equip students with culinary skills and other soft skills including resume writing, job preparation and the ability to access resources such as social work or case management.

With the recent renovation of the kitchen, the brand new practice space at TASK allows up to four students to receive hands-on training from seasoned chefs who work tirelessly to run the program. The program consists of eight weeks of practical culinary education. This includes food safety certification and two weeks of internship working in the TASK kitchen putting their new skills to use. Regarding the success of the program, Co-Director Adam Livow said, “Within 10 weeks of time we have students graduating the program and being lined up with job offers….They are going from being unemployed to being self-sufficient and having a steady paycheck which gets them that much closer to self-sufficiency.”

The program has previously graduated a number of cohorts of students successfully and the staff are looking forward to graduating the next class. Alumni have found major success working for companies and institutions such as UPS, Wayfair and Rider University.

Mental Health & The COVID-19 Pandemic

By: Brie Wells

Close to 3.1% of adults in New Jersey live with serious mental health conditions such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depression, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Mental Health affects all aspects of life and is defined as a person’s emotional, psychological, and social well-being. As the Coronavirus Pandemic churns on and death rates rise, mental health in surrounding communities has taken a tremendous toll. 

According to the CDC, The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with mental health challenges and a rise in illnesses that are related to morbidity and mortality rates. As the days go on more and more cases increase and the national average goes up tremendously. In relation to public health emergencies, such as COVID-19, the spread of disease may affect the health, safety, and well-being of many individuals. This can cause a plethora of problems such as insecurity, confusion, emotional isolation, and stigma in relation to communities who have faced economic loss, work and school closures, inadequate resources for medical response, and deficient distribution of necessities according to the New England Journal of Medicine. 

The frequency of these events which have been caused by the disease and the necessary mitigation activities used to prevent the spread of COVID-19 such as physical distancing and stay-at-home orders have dramatically affected the mental health of thousands of people. New Jersey remained under a mandatory stay-at-home order for months limiting access to stores, industries, and vital resources for all New Jersey residents. Recently, the stay-at-home order was lifted but New Jersey still has restrictions on travel and the reopening of business to contain the spread of COVID-19 which has prevented the return to normalcy.

In these times many New Jersey residents may need help with mental health resources and there are many options that are being offered to the community. One resource is through reaching out to NJ Mental Health Cares if one fears that a person they love may be struggling with mental health. NJ Mental Health Cares is a state health information and referral service that can help people who are dealing with anxiety and worry in relation to COVID-19. Residents can reach NJ Mental Health Cares by calling 1-866-202- HELP or by visiting https://www.njmentalhealthcares.org

Another resource that can help with the handling of mental health is the advice listed on the CDC website to deal with mental stress related to COVID-19. These tips include knowing what to do if you are sick and are concerned about COVID-19, knowing where to get treatment, taking care of one’s emotional health, taking breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including those on social media and using methods such as meditation or stretching to reduce stress. 

One final resource available to the public is a free hotline open to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to have a place to seek emotional support. Residents can call the video hotline at 973-870-0677 Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Although the cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in New Jersey, it is important to remember that keeping yourself healthy involves taking care of both physical and mental health. 

 

Links to Research 

https://www.nj211.org/covid-19-and-mental-health

https://www.nj.gov/humanservices/clients/mental/

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6932a1.htm

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2008017

https://www.rtor.org/directory/mental-health-new-jersey/

https://www-doh.state.nj.us/doh-shad/topic/MentalHealth.html

https://www.mhanj.org/covid-19/

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/managing-stress-anxiety.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fprepare%2Fmanaging-stress-anxiety.html

Update On the Census, What You Need to Know

By: Gabrielle Wells

Outlined by our nation’s constitution, the Census counts the population of the United States and the five U.S. territories known as Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Every ten years the U.S. The Census Bureau takes on this task to understand the makeup of the United States and where each American lives. 

This count of the U.S. population not only counts the amount of people in the U.S. but it will provide information which will be used for federal funding, community funding, the appointment of representatives, and other programs which will help build public property such as schools, roads, and hospitals. In the 24th Census, the same problems have arisen, like it has done time and time again with undercoverage of different communities in this nation. Undercoverage is a situation that typically occurs when surveying a sample size, in which some groups of the population are not represented or are left out of the survey. With COVID-19 cases on the rise, the threat of undercoverage is even greater among the Trenton community, when it results in putting safety before practicing our constitutional rights.

Since March 12th, 2020 all United States households have received detailed information from the Census Bureau in the mail. The Census Bureau provided information on the different ways that the Census can be taken which includes by mail, phone and for the first time, online. On April 1st known as “Census Day,” the Census Bureau took account of how many people responded and devised plans to reach out to those who had yet to respond to the Census. As a result census workers went out into the community to ensure that the address list of the bureau was updated and that everyone has received an invitation to answer the census. 

Although The U.S. The Census Bureau prides itself on trying its best to accurately count the entire U.S.population, it abruptly ended all counting efforts for the 24th Census on September 30, which is a month earlier than expected. As of October 3rd, 2020 the U.S. Census website put the national average of self-response at 66.7% and reported that 98,500,00 households have been counted. In Mercer County, there is a 70% self-report rate and in Trenton, NJ there is a self-report rate of 47.7%. Overall in the state of New Jersey, the self-report rate is 69.1 % ranking it 19 out of 50 states for self-reporting. Although 2,700,000 households have self responded to the Census in NJ, with NJ estimated population around 8,882,190 that means many members of the population may still not have been counted even with a 99% enumeration rate. With 47.8% of the population of NJ using Self Reporting via the internet it begs the question of how much of the population who does not have access to the internet and is at risk for being undercounted, will be included in the Census.

According to four former Census Bureau Directors,” the lack of extending the Census reporting deadline will result in seriously incomplete enumerations in many areas across our country.” Former Census Bureau Directors Vincent Barabba, Kenneth Prewitt, Robert Groves, and John Thompson all put out a combined statement on August 4th, 2020 urging Congress to extend the legal deadlines for the 2020 Census and stating that the Census Bureau should be required to continue all data collection operations through October 30, 2020. Originally before the pandemic, the counting of the Census was supposed to be complete by July but the deadline was extended to October and recently concluded in September. 

With the 2020 election still being contested, proper allotment of representatives and federal funding is even more important, now more than ever to ensure the fairness of the United States democracy. As for now, according to the Census Bureau, the results of the 2020 Census will be available March 31st, 2021 but until then it is up to the American people to decide their opinions of the legitimacy of the 2020 Census.

Is the “What I Need App” a Win?

By Zion Lee

On January 16th, 2020, the City of Trenton released the “What I Need” or “WIN” App for individuals (ages 16-24) who are affected by homelessness. While this app is new to the Trenton-Mercer County area, it already is a resource provided in Los Angeles, California. It is advertised to help link users to resources such as “shelter, crisis, food, drop-in centers, health, legal, hotlines, education, jobs, transportation, benefits, and more”. There are some reviews about the app from users in California we need to know if this is a viable resource here in Mercer County. The Streetlight, decided to download the WIN App and see if it is a useful resource for our readers.

At first, it seems as though nothing could go wrong with the WIN application. The app has an easily navigable menu that is colorful and has images representing the type of resource available to users on the app: such as a phone icon for hotlines and a bed icon for shelters. Each resource is categorized by type of necessity for ease of access. Also, there is a map function that displays the local area and the locations of the programs associated with the WIN app. However, after tinkering with the app we discovered that the app requires an internet connection to properly function. Thus, this app would only be fully helpful if used in locations where internet access is available. Furthermore, the app is targeted at a very narrow age group, specifically marketed to help youth combat homelessness, which leaves out a large population of people who are still affected by homelessness. In addition, whilst keeping the app on our phone, it would only give us notifications from Californian shelters and resource providers, despite selecting the Trenton, NJ option when setting up the app. Such notifications can be confusing for individuals who are not in the California area. Through our observations, it is evident that Trenton’s WIN app clearly needs more time to improve.

As of now, the Trenton WIN App clearly has a lot of potential to become an amazing resource. In due time, the app will likely develop into a great resource for the 16-24 aged individuals who struggle with homelessness and have access to a smartphone with the internet. Furthermore, in times such as the COVID-19 quarantine where everything is remote, The Streetlight recognizes the value of having an electronic resource that is easy to access. No one knows for certain exactly what will happen in the future, however, with improvements such as an offline map that still displays the locations of resources and real-time notifications for the Mercer County area, the app seems to be a great internet tool. However, for anyone that does not fit the age range the app is designed for or does not have access to a smart device with internet, please check out the Streetlight resource guide!

06/02/2020- The City of Trenton has responded to The Streetlight and has “put in a request” to solve the “Win” App’s location issues to ensure there is no “confusion in services”.

Covid Cannot Stop Meals On Wheels

By Hannah Keyes

Meals on Wheels of Mercer County (MOWMC) is one of the more than 5,000 community-based programs across the country that seeks to address both the nutritional and social needs of its participants. This includes homebound elderly and disabled individuals who cannot shop for or prepare food for themselves and are often living in hunger and isolation.

According to a new survey conducted by Meals on Wheels (MOW) of America, every 4 out of 5 MOW programs have reported that their demand has at least doubled since the start of COVID-19. Given the current situation of the pandemic, those who are older and more susceptible to sickness are at higher risk and are extremely vulnerable during this time. There are now more seniors staying in their homes and requiring help.

Additional studies from MOW of America reveal that 1 in 4 seniors live alone and 1 in 5 feel lonely. Thus, MOW makes it a priority to see to it that their participants not only receive warm meals but that they are greeted by a friendly face. The program relies heavily on their volunteers who deliver meals as they not only give participants their food but interact with them and form meaningful relationships. Sasa Olessi Montaño, the Chief Executive Officer of the Mercer County branch, as well as a member who serves on the national board of Meals on Wheels of America stated, “Our secret sauce is that daily contact.”

However, the virus has caused the staff of MOWMC to have to adjust their normal operations. All volunteers are now required to wear masks and gloves as they provide a “touchless delivery”, wherein they knock on the participant’s door or window, hang the meal (in a bag) on the door, and walk away at least six feet and wait to make eye contact with the participant so that they know they will get their meal. There has also been a calling feature implemented where more seasoned volunteers will call participants and check-in to see how they are doing. This provides the “secret sauce” of daily interaction that is missing from the new touchless delivery. Additionally, MOWMC is participating in the new “Feed a Senior, Help a Restaurant” and “Hospitality Works” programs. These are a means through which to provide for seniors, local restaurants, and hardworking medical staff.

The MOWMC delivers meals in East Windsor, Ewing, Hightstown, Princeton, Trenton, West Windsor, Lawrence, and specific areas within Hamilton. The program is funded federally, however, it is significantly underfunded and is mostly aided through community support. Private dollars are raised in order to ensure that no one is turned away. MOWMC is partnered with Gourmet Dining at Rider University to provide hot meals to its participants Monday through Friday every week. Weekend meals can also be made available to participants. There are two different meal plan options (A and B), they both consist of one hot meal that includes meat/pasta and two sides, as well as one cold bag that includes milk, bread, salad, and dessert. All meals are low sodium and diabetic friendly and can be catered towards the individual’s dietary restrictions.
Olessi Montaño labels MOW as a “comprehensive nutrition program” rather than simply a social service program. It offers nutrition education and counseling for those who have limited food options or are immuno-compromised. Olessi Montaño states, “Our meals are therapeutic in nature, which means that we work with our participants to identify their diets. Whatever their therapeutic need is, our meals are tailored to it and we work with them on that.”
In addition to home-delivered meals, MOWMC offers several other smaller programs such as their Pet Pantry where bi-weekly pet food bags are distributed to participants who own animals. The Books on Wheels program allows volunteers to deliver books to participants through the Trenton Public Library. There are also “Holiday Meals” for participants who will be alone during the holidays, “Blizzard Bags” for inclement weather, and shelf-stable groceries that are delivered once a month.

If one is interested in being served through or volunteering for Meals on Wheels, please contact through email, info@mealsonwheelsmercer.org, or call (609)-695-3483.