ANCHOR HOUSE INC

The Anchor House Shelter provides a full spectrum of services to youth under 18 and their families, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Services to youth include safety plans, temporary shelter, food, clothing, crisis intervention, coordinated case management, individual, group and family counseling, access to medical, dental and mental health care, life skills education, school outreach, transportation, and aftercare. There was a 58% increase in Shelter residents in 2025 compared to 2024.The Anchor House School Outreach Program offers confidential, comprehensive support services to schools and community organizations throughout Mercer County and educational assistance to Anchor House youth. Anchor House employs a School Outreach Counselor to coordinate these efforts and to connect with guidance counselors and the Homeless Liaisons throughout Mercer County to provide individual and group counseling to students in an effort to keep youth in school and off the streets. All Shelter youth are checked in with regarding school situations like attendance and grades and all youth are offered homework help if needed. This programming continues to grow with 331 youth served in 2024 and 553 in 2025.

Anchor House's Street Outreach Program (SOP) serves young people ages 14-21 who are experiencing homelessness, have run away, or are in crisis. Through direct street outreach, staff build trusting relationships by offering basic needs such as food and clothing and connecting youth to shelter, safe housing, and supportive services that reduce risk of exploitation and promote stability and self-sufficiency. A Drop-In Center located at 868 Brunswick Avenue in Trenton complements the work being done on the streets where youth who are experiencing homelessness, living on the streets or at-risk of becoming homeless can frequent for meals, laundry, case management services and have access to email/Internet and a phone. Anchor House runs three programs in conjunction with the Trenton/Mercer Continuum of Care (CoC): two Rapid Rehousing Programs including one designed to meet the needs of LGBTQI+ youth that launched in July 2024, and Coordinated Entry Assessment System (CEAS). Anchor House started our first Rapid Rehousing program in 2009 to serve youth ages 18-24 who are HUD-eligible for supportive housing. The program provides rental assistance along with comprehensive support services, including case management, employment and educational assistance, life skills training, housing counseling, and assistance with housing searches. In July 2024, Anchor House launched a new Rapid Rehousing program specifically designed to meet the needs of youth who identify as LGBTQI+, a population that experiences disproportionately high rates of homelessness. Anchor House's Coordinated Entry Assessment System (CEAS) team serves youth who are homeless, ages 18-24. CEAS works closely with all community partners serving this population to streamline and coordinate the navigation of youth through housing assessments and services, community and street outreach, crisis intervention and case management, and referrals to social service agencies. This team is integrated into the City of Trenton's Coordinated Entry and Assessment System under the CoC. Youth are encouraged to participate on our Youth Advisory Council (YAC) where they can contribute to service planning, program development, and evaluation at Anchor House, and advocate on behalf of young people experiencing homelessness and other related issues on a broader scale.