Hudson County commissioners OK $893,000 for cooling centers, sober living housing and anti-terror funding

JERSEY CITY — Hudson County residents with nowhere to escape dangerous heat, people in addiction recovery who need a sober place to live, and the county’s emergency planners are all getting new money, under three measures the Hudson County Board of Commissioners approved last month.

The county announced the approvals in three press releases sent Monday, Oct. 12. The board’s Sept. 10 agenda shows all three items were on the consent agenda, which commissioners passed 9-0 in a single roll-call vote, according to the meeting transcript the county posted as its minutes.

$500,000 for cooling centers and emergency shelters

The largest of the three is $500,000 from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs’ Code Red Pilot Program, added to the county’s 2026 budget through a budget amendment (agenda item 13).

According to the county, the money will pay for cooling centers, emergency shelters and related services during periods of extreme heat and poor air quality for at-risk residents. The county defines at-risk as people living outdoors, on the streets, in parks or in poorly insulated homes, who face weather exposure and “possible death.”

For residents, that means more places to go during heat waves and smoky, bad-air days, which have hit Hudson County repeatedly in recent summers. The county’s releases did not say where the centers will be or when they will open; Hudson TV will report locations when the county announces them.

$260,000 for sober living housing

The board awarded year two of a fair and open competitive contract to Revision House, LLC for sober living housing services, $260,000 for Sept. 1, 2026 through Aug. 31, 2027 (agenda item 25). The contract runs through the county’s Department of Family Services and Reintegration.

The program offers short-term housing. According to the county, clients are generally referred by the department and include people who have dealt with substance abuse or mental health issues and receive public assistance, people in Recovery Court who need sober living, and welfare recipients experiencing homelessness.

The county’s release says the funding came from the state, but it names the agency as the “New Jersey Department of Family Services and Reintegration.” No state agency by that name exists; Family Services and Reintegration is the name of the county department. Hudson TV could not confirm the original source of the money from the agenda.

$133,000 federal anti-terrorism grant

The board also accepted a $133,000 Fiscal Year 2025 Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, for Sept. 1, 2025 through July 31, 2028 (agenda items 11 and 12). The agenda lists it under the Sheriff.

The county says the money supports Office of Emergency Management situational awareness, intelligence and information sharing, and terrorism prevention.

“Board Chairman Anthony Romano and the Board of Commissioners are providing the necessary resources to Hudson County residents who need assistance,” the county said in its Code Red release.

The releases were sent to Hudson TV by the Board of Commissioners’ public information office.