Community Resources

General Resources

New Jersey Basic Needs Resource Hub: BasicNeeds.NJ.Gov is a resource hub designed to make it easier for college students and adult learners in New Jersey to secure their basic needs including food, housing and shelter, childcare, and transportation.

Garden State Community Outreach: Garden State Community Outreach connects New Jersey residents to cost-saving and life-changing programs.

Bergen County Board of Social Services (BCBS): The BCBS works within the guidelines of Federal & State statutes, and helps individuals and families meet their basic needs so they can live in dignity and achieve their highest potential. 
Call: 201-368-4200

Bergen Resource Net: an online directory of Bergen County’s many valuable resources. It is for all community members to use as a way to locate local resources geared towards individual and family well-being. 

NJHelps: an easy way for you to pre-screen for programs that are available to help you and your family. NJHelps is private. NJHelps will tell you where to go for help and what to bring with you after you have answered all the questions.

HESAA FAFSA Assistance: New Jersey is offering free online consultations for students who need to complete the forms necessary to receive state financial aid for the upcoming school year.Through the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, students can meet privately with financial aid professionals and receive help navigating the form ahead of the Sept. 15 deadline for state aid

 

Help Lines

NJ 2-2-1: You are encouraged to dial “2-1-1” 24 hours a day, seven days a week if you need help in understanding and finding available assistance services. 

2NDFLOOR: This is a 24/7 helpline serving all youth and young adults in New Jersey. Individuals who call are assisted with their daily life challenges by professional staff and trained volunteers. Anonymity and confidentiality are assured except in life-threatening situations. 

Call/Text: 888-222-2228 

The Trevor Project: Crisis counselors are trained to answer calls, chats, or texts from LGBTQ young people who reach out on our free, confidential, and secure 24/7 service when they are struggling with issues such as coming out, LGBTQ identity, depression, and suicide. 

Call: 1-886-488-7386

Text: 678-678

 

Domestic & Sexual Violence Resources

New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence (NJCEDV): The mission of the NJCEDV is to lead collaborative community and systemic responses to domestic violence by providing awareness, training, advocacy, policy development, technical assistance, and supportive services.

24/7 Helpline: 1-800-572-7233

HealingSPACE: The Sexual Violence Resource Center for all of Bergen County. We provide a confidential 24/7 hotline to survivors of sexual trauma and their loved ones. Support is available to anyone ages 13 years and up who has experienced sexual violence, whether it happened hours or years ago.

24/7 Helpline: (201) 487-2227

Location: 214 State Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601

Call: (201) 487-1750

Jersey Battered Women’s Service (JWBS): The JWBS is a full-service domestic violence and domestic abuse prevention agency. The services include a 24-hour helpline; counseling; safe house; transitional living; children’s services; life skills education; vocational counseling; batterers’ intervention; legal assistance; teen dating violence services; and professional training, education and youth prevention programs. For access to the JWBS Emergency Safe House or other programs, please call the helpline.

Location: Morristown, NJ 07962

Call: 1-877-782-2873

Text: (973) 314-4192

 

Food Resources

Bergen County Food Pantries: Linked below is a list of food pantries located in Bergen County. Hours, contact information, and directions are listed based on municipality. 

Center for Food Action: The Center for Food Action (CFA) provides emergency food packages and homelessness prevention assistance to local low-income individuals and families. Center for Food Action has locations throughout Bergen County

• CFA Englewood: 192 West Demarest Avenue, Englewood NJ, 201-569-1804, cfaenglewood@cfanj.org
• CFA Hackensack: 316 First Street, Hackensack, NJ, 201 883 9375, cfahac@cfanj.org
• CFA Mahwah: 90 Ridge Road, Mahwah, NJ, 201 529 2029, inquiry@cfanj.org
• CFA Ringwood: 145 Carletondale Road, Ringwood, NJ, 201 529 2029, inquiry@cfanj.org

NJ SNAP: New Jersey’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provides food assistance to individuals and families with low incomes to help them buy groceries through a benefits card accepted in most food retail stores and some farmers markets. Eligibility is set by several factors, such as income and resources. You can use SNAP benefits to stretch your food budget and buy nutritious foods that can keep you and your family healthy.

WIC: The New Jersey Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children is a successful public health nutrition program that provides wholesome food, nutrition education, and community support for income-eligible women who are pregnant and postpartum, infants, and children up to five years old.

 

Housing Resources

New Jersey Housing Resource Center (NJHRC): The NJHRC is a statewide, online database of affordable and accessible housing units in your area. The registry includes both rental and for-sale units that are available. 

Call: 1-800-428-8844

Adolescent Housing Hub (AHH): The AHH program is managed by the Office of Adolescent Services under the Department of Children and Families and is designed to assist youth with placement in a transitional or permanent housing program. Services are available to eligible homeless youth, youth at risk for homelessness, and youth aging out of the child welfare system, ages 18 – 21 years. Contact PerformCare to find out about housing and support.

Call: 1-877-652-7624

Section 8 Housing Voucher: The Section 8 Housing Voucher Program assists in making private rental housing affordable for low-income families through direct rent subsidy payments to landlords. The program is available to residents of all New Jersey counties and is administered throughout the State by a number of municipal and county authorities.

• Bergen Office: 100 First Street, Suite 207 (1st floor), Hackensack, NJ 07601, call (201) 996-8990
• Passaic Office: 100 Hamilton Plaza, Suite 600 (6th floor), Paterson, NJ 07505, call (973) 225-7416
• Hudson Office: 438 Summit Avenue, (3rd floor), Jersey City, NJ 07306, call (201) 217-7256

 

Health Care 

NJ Family Care: Qualified NJ residents of any age may be eligible for free or low-cost healthcare coverage that covers doctor visits, prescriptions, vision, dental care, mental health and substance use services, and even hospitalization. 

Bergen Volunteer Medical Initiative: Powered by passionate volunteers, BVMI delivers free, high-quality healthcare to Bergen County’s working uninsured, helping them live healthy, productive lives.

 

Legal Resources

Legal Services of New Jersey (LSNJ): Legal Services of New Jersey (LSNJ) coordinates the statewide network of nonprofit Legal Services programs that provide free legal assistance in civil cases to low-income people in New Jersey who cannot afford lawyers. 

• Location: 100 Metroplex Drive, Edison, NJ 08818
• Call: (732) 572-9100

Northeast New Jersey Legal Services (NNJLS): NNJLS’s mission is to ensure equal access to justice for residents of Bergen, Hudson, and Passaic Counties, NJ experiencing poverty. NNJLS is a non-profit public interest law firm that provides free legal help in civil (non-criminal) matters to underserved individuals and families.

• Bergen Office: 190 Moore Street, Suite 100, Hackensack, NJ 07601, call (201) 792-6363
• Passaic Office: 100 Hamilton Plaza, Suite 200, Paterson, NJ 07505, call (973) 523-2900
• Hudson Office: 574 Hudson Avenue, (2nd floor), Jersey City, NJ 07306, call (201) 792-6363

Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC): The ILRC with and educating immigrants, community organizations, and the legal sector to help build a democratic society that values diversity and the rights of all people. The ILRC trains attorneys, paralegals, and community-based advocates who work with immigrants around the country.