As a native New Jersyian, I’ve heard about the unusual sounding names our great state offers. In my early years I grew up in Whippany and learned that the name came from the Whippanong Native Americans who lived there. Mention the name Succasunna to anyone outside of the state and they’re like “What? Who?!” Many of our town, city names in the state are derived from the language of the Lenape Native Americans. A few months back, in the NJ Herald there was an article detailing the various town names derived from the Lenapes and what they mean. Here’s the list.

· Pequannock – land cleared for farming

· Passaic – where the water goes over the falls (makes sense)

· Hackensack – hook shaped winding river

· Hoboken – tobacco pipe (Frank Sinatra was often pictured with a pipe)

· Ho-Ho-Kus – red cedar

· Mahwah – meeting place, smiling faces

· Moonachie – possibly named for Chief Monachie

· Paramus – turkey river

Just for fun in writing this blog I decided to search for unusual NJ town names. Ever heard of Wickatunk or Manunka Chunk? Me either? In fact, the latter sounds like a new ice cream flavor from Ben and Jerry’s! They exist though with many others. What unusual sounding NJ towns do you know about? Tell us in the comment section below.

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) recently launched a new podcast, Community at the Core. As evictions have become more prevalent in our state and in the work that we at Family Promise of Sussex County do, the DCA’s first episode, Eviction Prevention in Action, had Dean Dafis, Director of the Office of Eviction Prevention as the guest speaker.

Here are some key points brought up in this podcast:

· New Jersey has seen a 24% increase in homelessness and for the second year in a row (2024 and now 2025), the state will surpass 100,000 evictions.

· If you count hard evictions (formal eviction notice) and soft evictions (person(s) asked to leave a shared residence), evictions are the largest driver of homelessness in the state.

· Evictions are affecting more middle income residents, many being single parent head of household.

· New Jersey has a higher percentage of rentals than many other states and it is one of the most densely populated and expensive which contributes to the rise in evictions.

Mr. Dafis also pointed out how evictions are invisible, only becoming visible when the households are unable to stabilize and become unsheltered. We at Family Promise of Sussex County work tirelessly in conjunction with the DCA and other community partners to help individuals navigate this oftentimes scary and intimidating process of evictions. To aid in this endeavor, the DCA recently developed an Eviction Guide (please see below). This guide is available in English and Spanish and is a very easy tool for individuals to use if ever faced with the possibility of an eviction. For those facing hard evictions, please know that you are not alone, there is help out there and while it can be difficult or even unpleasant, if possible do not self-evict (move out of your home) before the process plays out. https://www.nj.gov/dca/dhcr/offices/evictionguide.shtml

Caught your attention? Now that I did…wait before you say, “what?!”. Now, I’m all for self-care, self-reflection and such, my issue is with too many things, and I mean things, giving me some kind of pep talk.

The other day I grabbed one of my elderberry cough drops and noticed some tiny blue text on the wrapper. To my dismay and it stated, “Put a little strut in it.”, “It’s yours for the taking”, “Flex your ‘can do’ muscle” and last but not least, “Don’t waste a precious minute.” Really? My cough drop is now some kind of life coach or cheerleader. Speaking of too much positivity, many people who are weary of AI, me included, talk about how AI is the biggest people pleaser out there. Regardless of what kind of question, people have even purposely asked a silly question, AI’s first response is always great question!

There’s even a term for it…it’s called toxic positivity. An article in Verywellmind states, “Toxic positivity takes positive thinking to an overgeneralized extreme. This attitude doesn’t just stress the importance of optimism—it also minimizes and even denies any trace of human emotions that are not strictly happy or positive.”

So, what is one to do when even their cough drop is giving them advice and wanting them to look on the bright side? Be realistic about what your emotions are, don’t deny how you feel even at the time it may not be perceived as positive. It’s OK…after all, we are human.