'I didn't know where to go': End of Neptune homeless camp behind ShopRite may be in sight?
NEPTUNE - John Eustor is a bit of a free spirit. A self-described practicing shaman, he once took part in the Occupy Wall Street protests. He owned a holistic healing center in Bradley Beach and lived with a girlfriend.
But he didn't expect that one day he'd be living in the woods behind a ShopRite supermarket along Route 66, one of about 30 homeless people living in a makeshift decade-old tent city.
Neighboring homeowners have asked the township to do something about the encampment, and officials say they have more hope than ever before that they can find permanent homes for people living there who are exposed to all the challenges of homelessness — bad weather, drug addiction, crime and other social ills.
"We will literally go line by line through each identified resident of the camp and see what steps can be taken now to rehome them to appropriate housing," said Gina LaPlaca, the township's business administrator.
Most there never dreamed they would end up calling the woods home. Whether it was due to falling on hard times, drug use or getting released from incarceration and just having nowhere to go, this encampment was no one’s first choice.
'I didn't want to leave this area'
"I owned a business in Bradley Beach called Sapphire Holistic Center where I did sound-healing work — Tibetan bowls, gongs, crystal bowls — and I hosted meditations, group gatherings and individual healings," said Eustor.
About two years ago, Eustor started practicing his holistic healing during the COVID pandemic. He said his girlfriend at the time did not understand what he was doing, and she called a mental crisis squad and had him committed for seven days.
When he was released, his then-girlfriend didn't want him living with her anymore and threw him out, he said.
"I tried to look for apartments around (Monmouth County) and I can't find anything less than $1,900. My credit still isn't that good," Eustor said. "I decided to basically live partly in my car and partly out of my business. They didn't like that I was doing that."
Once he was evicted from his studio, he started living out of his car, sleeping in different parking lots.
"I didn't want to leave this area. At the same time I couldn't move to some other areas. I am from New York originally, but I like this area because it's got good energy to it," Eustor said.
Then his car got impounded, returned, and then later stolen and totaled. "I had no car, no money from the insurance company," he said. "I had nothing left; I didn't know where to go."
Once it got cold out last year, he found the tent city, which he still calls home.
Seventy bags of trash
Earlier this year, homeowners along the neighboring Cardinal Road started voicing their concerns for the growing encampment at Township Committee meetings. Residents stressed that their neighborhood's issues are not due to a lack of compassion.
According to Neptune officials, the wheels started turning after the Asbury Park Press first reported on the encampment in March.
In April, Monmouth County Clean Communities and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Clean Shores Program made two visits to the property. They collected 70 bags of trash, 13 tires, two shopping carts, assorted auto parts and even some furniture items, according to township officials.
Police and other agencies have also made visits to the encampment.
One of them is Ron Smith, better known as "Smitty," one of the longest residents of the encampment, calling it home for almost 10 years.
"Got out of prison. Me and my ex didn't get along. My son passed away five years ago and you know, what the hell," he said. "It is an everyday thing. All you got to do is deal with the weather. We all have heat (when it is cold). We survive."
'We all look out for one another'
Smitty blamed recent problems which led the neighboring residents to call the authorities on younger, newer unhoused people living at the camp, some of whom he said are heroin addicts.
"It was peaceful, just like it is now. We all look out for one another, take care of one another. Since they come out here they want to bang around, holler and scream all night long, and the neighborhoods hear it," Smitty said.
"My whole plan is to stay right where I am at. I have no problems here," he said.
'It’s something I think about every single day'
LaPlaca of the township told the Asbury Park Press that working to address the issue of the encampment "has really brought to the fore my personal passion for working in government but also its stark dual nature — you are uniquely empowered with the ability to help people in a very direct way but then instantly frustrated by the many circumstances outside your control."
LaPlaca said the township has an obligation to help both the homeless and nearby residents whose quality of life has been affected by the camp. She added that neither she nor the township has "the singular ability to solve the housing affordability crisis, or to make mental health care more accessible, or to make the wheels of this multi-pronged process move any faster.
"But what I do have is the drive to help in any way I can. It’s something I think about every single day when I come to work and it’s literally the reason I do what I do," LaPlaca said.
In May, 14 people living there were identified as qualified for Monmouth County low-income housing. Another 10 have not been assessed due to them missing vital documents, such as birth certificates, Social Security numbers or some kind of photo identification. Nonprofit organizations are actively assisting them, she said.
The Mental Health Association of Monmouth County and Garden State Home are the two primary agencies that have been helping with the camp. Community Affairs and Resource Center (CARCNJ) have been deployed to help the unhoused with substance abuse issues.
The township hosted a case conference with the state Department of Community Affairs in conjunction with Monmouth County and the associated nonprofit agencies on June 16.
"We don't have timelines right now, but as a result of the case conference, every single client that is identified has been assigned to a government or agency for the next step, whatever that next step is," LaPlaca said.
She added that "a lot of them have vouchers. DCA feels that there are probably housing opportunities for these folks already.
"(They are) probably going to mostly be relocating out of this immediate area," LaPlaca said. "For some folks in the camp they have said very clearly, they don't want to leave the Neptune/Asbury area. So that is going to be a challenge for those folks."
Some living in the camp work part-time in the area, such as at the ShopRite or elsewhere.
"So, it makes sense you would want to stay where your paycheck is, to the degree that you have one," she said. "But DCA seemed pretty confident we should be able to get housing for these folks."
LaPlaca said this is the most positive about the situation she has felt since the township started tackling it.
"I have a moderate degree of confidence, only because the devil is in the details," she said. "Most of them are willing to be rehomed. You have a couple who are resistant but it is not the majority. Most would like to be somewhere else other than where they are. It is just a matter of opportunity."
Charles Daye is the metro reporter for Asbury Park and Neptune, with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. @CharlesDayeAPP Contact him: CDaye@gannettnj.com
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Neptune homeless camp behind ShopRite could be coming to an end
