HomeFront’s mission is to end homelessness in Central New Jersey by harnessing the caring, resources and expertise of the community.
We lessen the immediate pain of homelessness and help families become self-sufficient. We work to give our clients the skills and opportunities to ensure adequate incomes, and we work to increase the availability of adequate, affordable housing. We help homeless families advocate for themselves individually and collectively.
Our History
From our earliest days, we have honed our tools and our procedures as a “first responder,” as we worked toward our mission to end homelessness in Central New Jersey.
In 1991, Connie Mercer, HomeFront’s founder, took a life-changing step into the then hidden world of homelessness in her community. Invited by a friend to visit motels around Trenton, NJ, where families experiencing homelessness were being temporarily housed, Connie witnessed heartbreaking scenes: children and parents living without food, without resources, and, most devastatingly, without hope. At the end of the visit, her friend issued a challenge that would forever alter the course of her life and the way homeless families are treated in Mercer County: “Connie, there are hungry, homeless children living in your community. Fix it.”
Connie immediately mobilized a group of dedicated volunteers who began delivering meals to the motels. But she didn’t stop there. Under her relentless leadership, this grassroots effort grew into something extraordinary.
Connie and her team began addressing the deeper needs they encountered—providing clothing, personal care items, and essential supplies to the parents, as well as organizing enriching activities to bring joy and normalcy to the lives of their children.
These early efforts laid the foundation for what would become HomeFront. Over her remarkable 30-year tenure as CEO, Connie transformed HomeFront into a multi-site, multi-program social service agency, offering everything from housing assistance to education and job training, and always with a special focus on the particular needs of children impacted by poverty and homelessness. Her unwavering vision and commitment touched thousands of lives, offering families not just resources, but dignity and hope for the future.
A Continuing Legacy
Connie Mercer’s legacy is not just in the programs she built or the policies she influences—it’s in the lives she has changed, the communities she has strengthened, and the hope she has restored for so many.
In September 2022, Connie stepped down as CEO of HomeFront, but her mission didn’t end. She assumed the role of CEO of the New Jersey Coalition to End Homelessness, bringing her unparalleled experience and unshakable passion to a statewide platform. Now, Connie is leading efforts to tackle the systemic causes of homelessness, championing change for countless families across New Jersey.
Now and Tomorrow
Now we are poised on a new organizational phase that looks to build on our legacy of high-quality emergency services.
Since its founding, HomeFront has grown into a sophisticated social service agency with a comprehensive slate of programs designed to help families in economic crisis address whatever issues they are facing. We offer safe and secure emergency housing, feed thousands of hungry households a year, provide other necessities such as diapers, personal and household items, and offer comprehensive wraparound services to support families. Now we are poised on a new organizational phase that looks to build on our legacy of high-quality emergency services.
We recognize that we cannot end homelessness only by responding once it has already happened but must do what we can to ensure more families never experience the pain of homelessness in the first place.
Our long-standing mission statement begins with an audacious goal: we seek to end homelessness in our community. We recognize that we cannot end homelessness only by responding once it has already happened but must do what we can to ensure more families never experience the pain of homelessness in the first place. To that end, HomeFront has recently embarked on a multi-year effort to strengthen our capacity to forestall the crises that derail the ambitions and stability of families in our community, with programs and staff working more “upstream” on preventing homelessness.
