Home run Newton officers come to the aid of homeless family
n BY AMBER RAMUNDO
Sussex County Local 138 is no stranger to the type of community assistance that helps individuals in need get back on their feet. But an incident on Jan. 27 sticks out for the officers of the of Newton Police Department who arrived to a scene with four individuals unresponsive in a car. Expecting the worst, they instead found themselves in a position to help a family through a difficult situation.
Officers Jose Morales and Shawn Burke were dispatched to the Weis Market parking lot on Water Street in Newton. There they came across the running vehicle with four individuals who appeared to be unconscious. At first glance, the officers considered the worst: overdose or carbon monoxide poisoning. But after tapping on the car window, the individuals rubbed their eyes open and Morales and Burke exhaled in relief that the passengers were just asleep.
“ My officers were given the family’ s heartfelt story about them losing their home and sleeping out of the car for four days without having anywhere to sleep or shower,” Newton’ s Chief of Police Michael Richards shared.
It was clear that the family of a mother, her sister, teen son and adult daughter were embarrassed to be found sleeping in a car full of their possessions, including their two dogs who were curled up in the back seat. The officers and Sergeant Scott King insisted that the family come to the police department to get cleaned up and have some food.
“ The family didn’ t want to put themselves in the spotlight,” explained Sergeant King.“ It felt a little awkward at first because it was hard for them to ask for help. But once we took them in, they were very gracious and appreciative of what we did for them.”
While the family took showers at the police station, Officer Shawn Burke went out to get them something to eat and returned with a fresh pizza and some snacks.
“ We have boxes of MREs( meals ready to eat) with dehydrated food for this purpose,” Officer Burke disclosed.“ I wasn’ t going to have this family eating food out of a bag. I feel blessed to have more than most people have. I’ ve got a pretty good job.”
Officer Morales also ran an errand for the family by visiting the Sussex County Food Co-Op to pick up food for the dogs. As he
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paid for the dog food, Morales shared the family’ s story with a store employee. After hearing about the needs of the four individuals, the store donated a box of food and toiletries for Morales to bring back to the family.
“ We always try to help people out and make phone calls on their behalf to make referrals and give transportation to temporary housing,” Chief Richards added.“ These guys did more than just that. It’ s an underscore that they care, and it shows in their work.”
It also shows in the fact that Morales, Burke and King all pitched in their own money to pay for the needs of the family, including the extra fee of $ 25 per pet to allow the dogs to stay with the family at the Samaritan Inn, a temporary housing shelter in Newton that offered to give them a place to stay.
The outreach from the community continued when Sergeant King went for a property check drive that same day. As he passed by a local park, two individuals flagged him down to ask if he knew of anyone homeless who could use some extra clothes and living supplies. The women were members of Christian Faith Fellowship Church and Sergeant King knew exactly where to send their donations.
“ I directed them to our headquarters and they were able to assist the family that we already had in the lobby,” Sergeant King noted.“ It seemed like the community was outpouring help to these people. They were overwhelmed by the amount of outreach.”
According to the U. S. Census Bureau, 5.6 percent of Sussex County’ s population lives in poverty. Newton Police Department makes sure there are resources to assist anyone who walks through the doors in need of help by keeping track of all organizations that can provide food, shelter and other necessary items to people who are struggling.
“ The job of a police officer to some extent is a job of being a problem solver, whether it’ s conducting an investigation to try to figure something out, or in this situation, trying to help someone who is experiencing a problem in their life,” confirmed Chief Richards.“ We have lots of resources at our disposal and we can help people find out what kind of help is out there. That’ s part of our job.” d
Sussex County Local 138 members and Newton Officers( from left) Jose Morales, Shawn Burke and Sergeant Scott King gave a family of four shelter after living out of their car for days.