The Martin House "Family of Programs" seeks to offer hope and opportunity to the low-income people it serves by securing housing, education, clothing, and appliances. Expanded from Better Community Housing of Trenton under the dynamic leadership of Father Brian McCormick, Martin House has cultivated several major programs aimed at strengthening the Wilbur neighborhood community:

Better Community Housing of Trenton: Better Community Housing of Trenton constructs and rehabilitates housing units for sale to low-income families for $25,000. About 7 new housing units are completed each year. The entire 12-year, no-interest mortgage payments collected from new homeowners is reinvested back into continued housing development in the community. They require that all homeowners learn home repair while others are exposed to construction trades.

Martin House Learning Center: Begun in 1984 with the goal of helping area children graduate from high school, Martin House Learning Center now offers preschool, high school equivalency training (GED), after-school tutoring, literacy classes, summer programs, ESL, youth programs, and enrichment for residents of all ages.

Doorway to Hope: Doorway to Hope is a transitional housing program for homeless families. Seventeen families at a time are provided emergency shelter for up to twelve months. Through case management, staff members assist families in searching for permanent housing, stabilizing their relationships and families, planning a course of action to help themselves, improving parenting and employment skills, and moving toward self-sufficiency.

Martin House Clothing Store: Run by and for local residents, the Store offers warm clothing and household products at affordable prices. Items are also used to furnish Doorway to Hope units for homeless women and children. All proceeds benefit the people of the area.

Martin House Community for Justice Foundation: The Foundation is responsible for raising and applying funds from the private and public sectors for the Martin House "family of programs." Its governing board of dedicated business and community leaders seeks to provide opportunities for the economically and socially disadvantaged and to raise the consciousness of the business community about the impact of business decisions on low-income people. This year the Foundation is trying to build 30 homes and 2 rehabilitation centers in Wilbur. There are also plans to demolish 22 buildings, create a new summer program, expand the Foundation’s educational approach and organize the furniture warehouse. The Foundation is currently seeking volunteer or discounted relations with professionals and vendors.

The array of programs sponsored by Martin House reflects Father Brian McCormick's belief that good housing does little for a neighborhood if auxiliary services are not provided.

Martin House serves the residents of the Wilbur Section of Trenton. According to census data, 23% of neighborhood residents live below the poverty line. In addition, Trenton schools report that more than 50% of students do not graduate from high school. Martin House has observed that only 1 in 4 youth graduate from the city’s public high schools. They also hold that development is having a negative impact on the poor in the area.

Research Questions

SOCIAL DYNAMICS IN HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS

• Martin House is interested in the social dynamics created by housing development. Is there enough affordable housing being created in Trenton? Is it meeting the needs of the lowest socioeconomic bracket? Does low-income housing development in Trenton benefit all who are below the poverty line, or does this development lead to the displacement of a lower low-income group by a higher low-income group? How many units of housing under Regional Contribution Agreements (RCAs) were built for people who are 45% of the median income level? In the past 12 years how many units of housing available for families of 3 and above have been torn down or taken out of use? How many units of housing were built for them? How many units of housing were for families who are 45% of the median income? How many families were above median income? What are the housing options for these families? What can be done to increase those options?

HOUSING AVAILABILITY

• Has HUD (the federal agency for housing and urban development) built more or less housing than they’ve closed down in the past 5 years?

MULTIPLE FAMILIES IN HOMES

• Does the new cost of renting or purchasing a home demand that people and families of meager incomes share housing with multiple families to be able to afford rent? What are the implications?

PRISONER REENTRY: EMPLOYMENT AND HOUSING

• With 13-14,000 children currently incarcerated and 70,000 people coming out of jail in the next 10 years, what are the options for them in terms of employment and housing? If federal offenders are barred from housing and jobs, how will they integrate back into society once they return from prison?

LOOPHOLES IN THE LOW-INCOME HOUSING SYSTEM

• Are people giving houses to kids and then applying for senior citizen low-income housing? How much of the low-income housing went to people who had had an asset, transferred it to a relative, and then qualified for low-income housing?

HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS AND THE POOR

• The three key components of Smart Growth are open space, green acres, and high density residence. The State “Green Acres” land preservation program will restrict urban housing options. How will various approaches to development, such as Green Acres and Smart Growth, affect where people live – both in terms of geographic location and the types of houses they can afford? Should there be matching for affordable housing? Is it more difficult for the poor to find housing because of these approaches? Does it elevate the cost? What will happen to people who get bought out? Can one predict where numbers of people will go?
• Another way to approach this question is: What are the effects of growth and development on the poor in terms of where they live, how they live, and general well-being? How do different growth strategies compare to one another in this measure?

TAXES AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING

• Martin House would like students to examine the relationship between county and state taxes (property and other) and their effects on housing issues such as affordable housing, homeownership, homelessness, and others.

TOURISM AND EMPLOYMENT IN TRENTON

• It was reported that much of the development in the southwest areas of Trenton would create many jobs in the tourist-entertainment trade. How has development in the tourist-entertainment industry affected jobs and income in Trenton? Where in Trenton can these employees afford to live? What type of housing approach is needed by people in those jobs?

EMIGRATION FROM TRENTON

• How many people have moved out of Trenton across the river to Morrisville, PA or to other places like Florence, NJ?

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

• How do corporate actions affect others? Do they benefit or hurt others? How do these actions affect other corporations? What moral obligation do planners have when a large percentage of the population is not being served?

OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS WITH ALTERNATIVE DIPLOMAS

• The Daylight/Twilight program is another form of a high school diploma (as opposed to the GED). Martin House would like students to research this program and other similar programs and their successes. Students would look at data from Mercer County Community College and see how many GED or Daylight/Twilight students have gone on to college and completed an associate’s degree. Or was there other valid training towards a better future? How many people participated in Daylight/Twilight and then what happened? Do these alternative diplomas make the Trenton High School diploma less valuable?

IMMIGRATION AND RACE RELATIONS

• How does Trenton’s growing immigrant population affect racial tensions within the city? How can these tensions be addressed?

GRANDPARENTS AS PARENTS

• What is the effect of grandparents acting as primary care providers for their grandchildren? In particular, how does this affect the child?

FAMILY LIVING DYNAMICS WITH GRANDPARENT

• What happens when three generations are living in the same household? How does a grandparent (or grandparents) living in the same household as their children affect family dynamics especially when the couple is young?

YOUTH PREGNANCY

• What are the effects on childrearing when a young woman has a child, pursues further education, and has a job?

CHILD SUPPORT

• What social impact does multiple support payments have on men and women?

BANKS AND LENDING

• Martin House would be interested in research on local banks, including their history of loaning to various economic and racial groups and any redlining practices.

TRANSIT VILLAGES

• With the creation of transit villages in NJ, what will be the impact on the state and the immediate areas in which the villages are located? How will this community-type alter the lifestyle of the residents of the area?  What is the dynamic of high density living in cities?  What impact will transit villages have on education?  How can children be raised in an environment of the transit village?  How can congestion be managed?
• What has happened to people who were displaced by transit villages?  Where did they go?  What areas typically become transit villages?  How do these changes affect children’s education?

 OIL PRICES AND THE POOR

• The high price of oil will make this winter a particularly hard one for poor families in New Jersey area.  How can poor users of oil heat their homes?  How will oil prices affect their standard of living?  What will poor consumers have to give up to heat homes?  What energy alternatives are available? 

WATER CONSUMPTION AND THE POOR

• Recent legislation has transferred the responsibility for maintaining water and sewer pipes from the city to homeowners.  The city is also considering the option of selling water management to a private corporation.  How will poor families manage this change?

 

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