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About Us
The Helping Hand Housing Project (H3P) exists for the sole purpose of creating transitional mixed housing solutions for the unhoused. H3P is grounded in a Housing First model—an evidence-based approach that stabilizes individuals by meeting their most basic need: safe, reliable housing. This model has been shown to reduce emergency service usage, lessen police interactions, and improve long-term outcomes for unhoused residents. H3P will manage the apartments and provide wraparound services to the residents. Wraparound services may include but will not be limited to access to local food pantries, access to job training, access to mental health and substance abuse services, etc. H3P is a volunteer led 501(c)3 organization
Our Vision
H3P seeks to partner with municipalities to acquire or lease vacant structures and convert them into secure, efficiency-style apartments. These buildings typically already possess the necessary infrastructure—electricity, plumbing, foundations, and roofs—making renovation significantly more cost-effective than new construction. Each retrofit would create multiple small, private apartments containing at least one bedroom, full bathroom, efficiency kitchen, and sitting area, with individual locking doors.
By clustering these units in a single location, municipalities can streamline service delivery and maintain continuity of care. Importantly, many unhoused individuals in local encampments have established micro-communities. They support one another, share resources, and care for each other’s children. Transitioning them into housing as a cohesive unit can prevent further destabilization and improve long-term success rates.
Residents housed through H3P would have structured access to essential wraparound services. H3P anticipates that residents will leverage existing federal, state, and county programs—such as Section 8 vouchers and other supportive-housing funds—to help cover ongoing housing costs. This approach reduces the financial burden on municipalities while maximizing available resources. Benefits to municipalities include:
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Reduction in encampments and public-safety concerns
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Stabilization of vulnerable residents
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Revitalization of vacant or blighted properties
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More efficient delivery of social services
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Lower long-term costs compared to emergency responses
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Strengthened community cohesion and public perception
H3P is committed to working collaboratively with municipal leaders, local service providers, and community partners to create a scalable, replicable model that meets the specific needs of our community.
H3P's initial focus with be on Southern NJ but the intent is to replicate elsewhere!
Wrap Around Services to be provided . . .
H3P can only help others if YOU help H3P.
Your donation will allow H3P to help those in need - your neighbors and community members.
Your donation is fully TAX DEDUCTIBLE.
Upon making a donation, H3P will send you a receipt to be used at tax time.
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Meet the Founder - Carolyn Rush
Carolyn Rush is the 6th of 7 children born to a working-class NJ family. Coming from a large family instilled in her the need for shared sacrifice and the need for cooperation to achieve common goals. Her parents made clear the vital roles played by their faith, tolerance and respect for others. Carolyn is now a year-round resident in Sea Isle City, NJ. She is a mother of 5 grown children, with 7 grandchildren. Through the years, Carolyn volunteered whenever the opportunity presented itself. She coached youth sports, volunteered in her children’s school and in her parish and was a co-chair of the Eileen Frank ALS Foundation which raised over a million dollars to fund ALS research.
After graduating with a degree in Computer Science from NJ’s Montclair State University, she spent over 35 years as an engineer. She worked in the Intelligent Transportation Industry (think EZPass) and in the Defense Industry (think protecting the enlisted). Her many years in engineering have allowed her to hone her skills as a problem-solver. Over the course of her career, she held several management positions which have allowed her to hone her interpersonal skills. She mastered the skill of bringing diverse individuals together to solve complex problems. She helped the engineers on her team keep their minds open to the ideas of the other engineers. She guided them and together they found solutions that would best achieve their customer’s goals.
As her children grew up and moved out on their own, Carolyn found herself reflective. She saw inequities in the world around her and realized things needed to change. She sought to BE the change she wanted to see. She retired from engineering and ran for Congress. Her hopes of changing things from within government did not come to fruition. Rather than giving up, Carolyn looked for a different way to make a difference in the world around her. She started a non-profit. During her campaign, local constituents repeatedly asked what her plans were for helping the unhoused communities living deep within the woods in tent encampments. Constituents also asked what her plans were for helping Veterans. The Helping Hand Housing Project seeks to improve the lives of our most vulnerable community members which too often includes those who valiantly served our country..
Carolyn believes now is the time to act. After recently losing her sister and best friend, Kim, to pancreatic cancer and her beloved son, Ryan, to complications from diabetes, Carolyn understands fully that no one’s time on this earth is guaranteed. She is determined to make her time count for the betterment of society.
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