Fort Lee Human Services Goes Extra Mile for Residents in Need

Social security, food stamps, and other government assistance programs that millions rely on in times of need leave gaps in their coverage. For Fort Lee residents, that’s where the Department of Human Services, led by Jillian Raimondo-Langham, comes in.

All municipalities in New Jersey are by law required to manage their jurisdiction’s clients in general assistance, a state benefit that provides temporary financial assistance to those homeless and at risk of becoming homeless.

But, Raimondo-Langham says, though her job entails casework for residents enrolled in the program, those with dependent children or on social security are ineligible for the state aid.

So, using the department’s relatively small budget—roughly $17,000 in the recently adopted municipal budget—as well as money raised by outside nonprofits, the department does additional work for those not covered by the larger state and federal programs.

“We see a need in this community that’s not being met,” said Raimondo-Langham, a Fort Lee native in her nineteenth year running the department with only one assistant.

Much of the work the department does, Raimondo-Langham explains, is liaising with other agencies to help residents gain the assistance they need.

“We’ll get random calls from residents asking, ‘What do I do?’” she says, explaining that the department will often help clients navigate through their dealings with entities from the power company to the Social Security Administration.

And in emergencies, such as a sudden illness that breaks a family budget, the department uses its limited discretionary funds to provide one-time, temporary relief to keep them stable and above water.

“It’s mostly families who are working,” Raimondo-Langham said. “They get behind the eight ball, so to speak, and it’s a domino effect.”

“During that time,” she continues, “when your cupboard is empty and you need something now, we use the discretionary fund.”

The department doesn’t distribute cash. It will make emergency payments on power bills or provide small supermarket gift cards to get a family through to the next paycheck, and its assistance is generally short-term, a stop gap measure while it does its work, as Raimondo-Langham describes it, of “problem solving” by assisting them in seeking assistance elsewhere.

The assistance the department provides, due to its limited budget and its inability as a government agency to conduct fundraising, is often dependent on nonprofit benefactors and private donations.

In the past, the department has provided supplementary food for Thanksgiving, toy drives around the holidays, and winter coat drives for elementary school students. A May program will distribute gift cards for toiletries, which are not purchasable with food stamps, for food stamp receipients.

It is already collecting potential prizes for its tricky tray raffle to be held next January. In 2012, the event raffled off over 800 donated prizes and raised $11,000 for the department’s programs.

To make a donation to the raffle, or to seek assistance from the department, call 201-592-3500 ext. 1511.

With an often busy schedule, Raimondo-Langham encourages those seeking the department’s services to make an appointment and ensure they can be scheduled: “I don’t like having to turn people away.”