Moorestown Ecumenical Neighborhood Development, Inc., the non-profit housing development organization, is celebrating its 45th anniversary, and what better way of doing so than being named “Non-Profit Organization of the Year?”
MEND received the honor from the Non Profit Development Center of Southern New Jersey. In a ceremony held at Adelphia in Deptford, MEND was recognized for its “numerous contributions to and measurable impact on the South Jersey region” throughout the year.
“I think it is pretty spectacular. It was just a wonderful coincidence that we received this award while celebrating our 45th anniversary. I couldn’t think of a better way for it to happen,” MEND President and CEO Matthew Reilly said.
MEND was founded in 1969 by nine Moorestown churches and has kept faithfully to its mission of providing safe and affordable housing to senior citizens, disabled persons and families with low and moderate incomes. MEND has developed 718 residential units at 29 locations in the Burlington County region. Over the last four decades, MEND’s affordable housing production efforts have represented a $150 million real estate investment in the region, according to a MEND press release.
During 2014, MEND has completed rent-up of 74 new apartment units for the elderly and those with special needs in Burlington Township at the Springside School and began construction of another 153 such units in Egg Harbor City and Florence Township. These three projects have a total development cost of $51 million and will create an estimated 495 construction jobs and 51 permanent full-time jobs, according to a MEND press release.
The project earned MEND many awards, including the NJ Future Smart Growth Award, an award by the New Jersey Planning Officials, and “The Supportive Housing Project Award — Large Scale Developments” from the Supportive Housing Association of New Jersey, just to name a few. With all these awards and the projects done this year, the NPDC-SNJ noticed its efforts and rewarded it with another award it can add to the list.
“We loved it. We’re proud. As I said at the award ceremony, I commend the non-profit center for having the guts to choose affordable housing to win the award, even though not always the most popular topic in town,” Reilly said. “It can be a struggle. It was nice to be recognized for that struggle and continuing to pursue our mission.”
Affordable housing developments are complicated projects and take years to produce. Not only is there a lot of paperwork, but finding sites that are appropriate and towns that are supportive can be difficult.
“Getting it done is a challenge, but having gotten it done is extremely rewarding,” Reilly said. “My favorite part about MEND is that we work hard and produce housing that people desperately need and housing that they would not otherwise have.”
People interested in helping MEND and its mission can do so in many ways. MEND hosts events, such as golf outings and dinner dances, where money raised goes toward the organization. All money donated is tax deductible. People who wish to volunteer directly can do so by helping out the senior citizens or even just visiting them.
“We would love to have people who would like to do things with our senior citizens. It is nice to have people who want to help them and interact with them,” Reilly said.
For those who are interested in applying for housing, they can go on the MEND website, www.mendinc.org, and download an application, or they can come in-person to the office at Baylor Arms Apartments located at 99 E. Second St. in Moorestown. The organization goes by a waiting list and, unfortunately, the list is long.
“If I had a Christmas wish this year, and it would be granted, I would wish that the long simmering, smoldering atmosphere with respect to affordable housing would clear up and blow away. The affordable housing saga in New Jersey is 40 years old. For the past 10 years, there has been non-stop litigation with towns. One step after the other, not getting housing done that we need to get done. People are piling up on our doorstep. We need more people agreeing with affordable housing. We need support from the state, local officials and courts. It would be better if we all worked together on getting it done rather than fighting against it,” Reilly said.
