Atlantic City has been working to deal with the city's homeless crisis with the creation of a new Department the boardwalk Improvement group also known as Big it's focused on working with individuals leaping and lering around Atlantic City's boardwalk and beaches and connecting them with social workers and addiction recovery Specialists and other resources and services the mayor and Advocate shared with me the city's recent accomplishments in homeless Outreach and how they're expanding the program this Corridor right here if we wasn't out here we'll be littered with people loing and doing other things Atlantic Avenue has been a tragedy in the shadows of Atlantic City's flashy casinos and bustling Boardwalk a crisis has been festering for years homelessness according to a point in time count of homelessness in Atlanta County by Monarch housing Associates about 27453 4 people live in Atlantic County and 12 71% of the County's residents live below the poverty line there are 291 homeless people in Atlantic City and 86.1% of Atlantic County's homeless population is in AC so on behalf of the great city of Atlantic City I'm going to tell the residents to continue to be patient and and know that this is a top priority for the small Administration to make Atlantic City as clean and safe as it possibly can be in an effort to address homelessness concerns and individuals dealing with drug addiction the city partnered with the state of New Jersey and Atlantic City casino Association to formed the boardwalk Improvement group also known as Big we put our money where our mouth is we hired professional Personnel uh highly qualified people who you're going to hear their resume to deal with the homeless and drug addiction issues in Atlantic City the mayor says the group was formed through a joint effort between many departments and it it's the first of its kind initiative in Atlantic City during a press event the city announced it recently hired several employees including social workers and an addiction recovery specialist to help connect homeless individuals with resources and services since I've been here for the last two months we've uh taken 10 persons off the streets got them Apartments so we are working hard day by day to make sure that we seek persons who want to be helped the group was established earlier this year and Contin to grow Joya Banks is also a new addition to the group as one of its social workers Banks says the pandemic exacerbated the homeless crisis trying to now get people that were in housing back into housing but of course you know it's just been difficult since Co because the rents have increased and people are unable to afford rent today I mean a lot of people out here you know what I mean they they they don't want to be in this situation you know what I mean I know you guys say h that there's help available and stuff like that but it's not as easy as you think like for like for example I came here 3 days ago trying to go to rehab okay and it's like I'm this because I'm on methodone for 110 milligrams in a program I went to before won't send my dozing sheet over it's like there's three rehabs in the state that would AC accept me so it's like you know what I mean it's just like you try to do the right thing and they make you jump through like 20 hurdles business owners I spoke with say the city's homeless crisis is now impacting their livelihood I want these guys to find place to live because every time they out there no customers come shop because someone afraid I can't even bring my Cas to the shop it's very very dangerous our children the customer afraid to come and buy because they afraid of the people that sitting on the street they afraid of the drugs they afraid of the ammunition don't need that we need the street to be clean up we don't barely pay our rent we losing all the businesses nobody here nobody here nobody here how we going to sell the mayor also said the city has been working with the state to appoint a homeless Czar to Atlantic City which small says will be announced soon for NJ Spotlight news I'm Raven Santana [Music]