While the peak of loneliness in The United States occurred during the pandemic, there is still a significant portion of the population experiencing it. The numbers, while fallen post- pandemic, are still higher than pre-pandemic statistics. So much so that in 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General declared loneliness a national epidemic and in an October 2024 Gallup poll 52 million U.S. adults experience daily loneliness! Younger adults aged 18-34 seem to have a higher incidence of this feeling of isolation, being disconnected from friends, family and even the world.

So how can we deal with this emotion when it arises? Here are some tips:

· Do activities that you enjoy, invite someone to participate with you

· Join a group or club

· Take care of yourself, practice self-care

· It’s OK choosing to be alone, be comfortable with it

· Try not to compare yourself to others, take a break from social media

Remember that we are all part of this social experiment called life and be grateful and kind to one another.

Did you know there is a website solely for sharing what I call fun facts called Did You Knows! They list 980 of them. Here’s just a sample:

Did you know – 11% of people are left handed

Did you know – August has the highest percentage of births – I believe I covered this in a previous blog.

Did you know – unless food is mixed with saliva you can’t taste it – how did they determine that?

Did you know – the average person falls asleep in 7 minutes – wonder how many of us wake up at 3:00 am?

Did you know – a bear has 42 teeth

Did you know – an ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain

Did you know – lemons contain more sugar than strawberries

Did you know – 8% of people have an extra rib

Did you know – 85% of plant life is found in the ocean

Did you know – rabbits like licorice

Did you know – the Hawaiian alphabet has 13 letters

Did you know – birds need gravity to swallow – I’m guessing we as humans don’t?!

Did you know – the most commonly used letter in the alphabet is E – wordle anyone?

Did you know – the 3 most common languages in the world are Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and English Have a need to read the rest of the list…check out their site here https://www.did-you-knows.com/

Share your fun facts, did you knows in the comments section below. I would love to hear them and who knows, I may write a blog about it one day!

Last year Family Promise of Sussex County (FPSC) held its first veteran outreach event, Service Strong Veterans Fair. With Sussex County Community College (SCCC) as our gracious host it was an opportunity for veterans to learn about services available to them and employment opportunities. It was so successful that we are hoping for it to be an annual tradition. This year the veterans fair will be on November 6th from 6-8pm at Sussex County Community College – Bldg. D. Thanks again to SCCC!

We at Family Promise of Sussex County serve all community members whether single, male, families and of course our veterans. This year through a private grant we were able to secure two transitional housing apartments specifically for veterans. Since 2019, FPSC has served 161 veterans across various housing, prevention and crisis programs. Of those 161 individuals over a half of them were 55 years or older and 13% were survivors of domestic violence. I am proud and pleased to report that 83% of them successfully exited our programs into permanent housing.

As Veterans Day is quickly approaching, please remember to show gratitude towards those who sacrificed everything for the benefit of all of us. Please also consider supporting us so that we can continue serving our community including our veterans. You can find donate and volunteer links on our website and thank you and thank you to our veterans too!

The best pizza to some is like naming their favorite child. There’s great debate as to who makes the best pizza is it New Jersey, New York, Connecticut or even Chicago with their deep dish pie. If I am only given one choice, pizza for me is the one food I could eat everyday for the rest of my life.

While I have not had every pizza in the county, I have always said that Dominick’s in Newton, specifically their Palermo pie is the best around. I am pleased to report that Food Network in a recent online piece where they announced the 50 slices you need to try in each state, named Dominick’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria as the one in New Jersey! Not just in the county but the whole state of New Jersey! The restaurant has been family owned and operated since the 1960’s with brothers Peter and Sal at the helm. The post states, “Their pizzeria is now known as the oldest one in Sussex County. The duo sell a fantastic Brooklyn pizza that’s a bit on the spicy side, as well as the rare New York-style Palermo square pie with marinara, red onions, herbs and spices.” To a certain someone I say, “I told you so” and now I want to go to Dominick’s and try their Brooklyn pizza!

Let us know in the comments section who your favorite pizzeria is. What’s your go-to slice? If I’m not eating the Palermo I like a good old fashioned grandma slice – square pie, thin crust kind of like a margherita slice – simple tomato sauce, mozzarella and fresh basil. What’s not to like?

Now that I got your attention, I’ll get to the Dorito story in a bit. Let’s first talk about snacking as I’m eating a small bag of honey roasted peanuts. According to Innovamarketinsights, the United States accounts for over ¼ of snack sales globally! Salty snacks in particular seem to be favored with potato-based snacks as most popular, followed by popcorn, snack nuts and seeds, corn-based snacks and pretzels. Another snack trend is sustainability whether through innovative packaging or using plant-based ingredients. It also is how the Dorito came to be and as a bonus – I’ll answer the age-old question what’s inside a Kit Kat bar?

When Walt Disney first started Disneyland in 1953, he utilized many corporate sponsors to help offset some of his costs. The Frito-Lay Company was one such sponsor. They hosted Casa de Fritos a place where you could eat Mexican type cuisine. One of the workers noticed the amount of tortillas that were being thrown out at the end of the night and decided to cut them into smaller pieces, season with taco flavoring, fry and voila the Dorito was born!

Kit Kats also have a sustainability origin. They are one of my favorite mass-produced candy bars but I must admit I never really gave any thought to the filling inside of the wafers. Well, I’m here to tell you that the filling is actually made out of broken bits of Kit Kat bars. Yes, there are people who look for the misshapen, not quite right Kit Kats and they use that to make the filling! Quite ingenious and economical.

Who knows what other snack facts are out there…please share in our comments below. What are your favorite snacks? Do you prefer salty or sweet?

Every October a week is set aside to acknowledge and celebrate the hard work that Family Promise does across its national network of affiliate providers. Those in this field know the challenges in ensuring families and individuals have access to adequate housing, resources and the opportunity to build a better future. While we should always stop and acknowledge our collective wins along the way, this week in October is a reminder to reflect on what we have accomplished and provide us with the energy and strength to continue our vision and mission because everyone deserves a home.

Here is a list of some of our 2024 achievements:

· 5,941 case management hours logged

· 1,940 households assisted with utility benefits

· 901 households received stabilization services with 85% of them moving to permanent housing

· On May 16th we hosted our first Casino Night fundraiser and on November 8th we held our first Service Strong Veterans Fair. Both events were so successful that they have now become an annual tradition!

We could not have done this without the support of you, our community. In these uncertain times we need your continued support now more than ever. Please consider donating your time or resources. Visit our donate and volunteer pages for more information and thank you.

You can donate here!
https://familypromisesussex.org/index.php/families-and-individuals-facing-housing-insecurity-need-your-help-today/

If you live in New Jersey, I probably don’t even have to tell you that stat as sobering as it sounds. For those who want to know which state is number one according to Elaine Ng, the field director of HUD’s Economic and Market Analysis Division, “Of the states that were affordable in 2019 but became unaffordable by 2023, Arizona experienced the largest decline in affordability and the greatest gap between median gross rent and median renter income.” But back to Jersey, those who call NJ home know the cost of living is quite high compared to other states – just look at our property taxes!

Imagine then, how individuals who are unsheltered or at risk of homelessness who are just trying to stabilize their housing must feel. According to, National Low Income Housing Coalition, “More than one-third of New Jersey residents are considered “cost-burdened,” meaning they spend over 30% of their income on housing, with a large portion of these residents (74% of extremely low-income renters) severely cost-burdened (spending over 50% of income).”

So how did New Jersey get here? Part of it is our proximity to New York City and major national hubs. Rutgers University economist James Hughes said, “New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the nation, and that land is scarce, expensive and extremely regulated.” These realities compound the difficulty in new housing production – even more so affordable housing!

“The demand for affordable housing in New Jersey has reached a critical point and it is an issue that (will) only continue to grow,” said Miosha Lawrence, homeownership coordinator for the Camden-based Parkside Business & Community in Partnership organization. “Many young professionals are leaving because they cannot afford to purchase here, or even rent here,” Lawrence said as she advocated for continued funding for New Jersey’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

We in New Jersey want to be known for many things like our beautiful beaches to our mountainous terrain and the birthplace of Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi and some say the best pizza in the country! Please, New Jersey, let’s help our residents be able to stay and flourish in this great state of ours.

As promised, I’m here to deliver one of the main fall trends this season. Whether you call it “Frantic and Fabulous”, “Frazzled but Fabulous” – just call me fabulous lol and I’m totally ready for this trend! On a serious note, fashion is a form of self-expression and oftentimes when there is uncertainty in the world we live in – whether it be social, economic, political we tend to gravitate towards a style less structured with less rules when it comes to what we wear.

Dr. Carolyn Mair, fashion psychologist (who knew?) and author stated, “Fashion doesn’t always need to make grand statements to be meaningful, but there’s no denying that something in the collective psyche has shifted. And now, that shift is showing up in our clothes.”

So what is frantic/ frazzled / fabulous style. It’s about being slightly imperfect, think messy buns, tweed oversized boyfriend blazers, all things boho, tall squishy over the knee boots. Vogue is defining it as Nomadic Spirit, “…a bohemian-inspired look around key items such as flowing blouses, knits, and jackets layered over maxi skirts, and rich embroidered jackets.”

I personally just like that I can be myself, not perfect. It’s something that we can all achieve…slightly imperfect but just right!

Yes, I said ten state animals, although one is a dinosaur and let’s hope it stays extinct. Most of us, like me, have heard of the state bird the goldfinch. Although I rarely see any and when I do they are in groups or flocks which are common for that type of bird. Curious about the rest , here are the other nine New Jersey state animals.

· The Horse – was made the official state animal in 1977. When you think of it, it kind of makes sense there are a lot of horse farms throughout the state. The United States Equestrian Team Foundation is located not far in Somerset County close to the Morris County border.

· The Honey Bee – one of our most important pollinators about 1/3 of all the food we eat in this country is thanks to the honey bee.

· The Black Swallowtail Butterfly – this insect can be found in all 21 counties.

· The Hadrosaurus Foulkii -roamed New Jersey about 70 – 100 million years ago. This dinosaur was about 25 feet long and likely weighed 7-8 tons. Pretty remarkable since it was a herbivore!

· The Seeing Eye Dog – having grown up in Morris County, I can attest to oftentimes catching a glimpse of a trainer with a seeing eye dog out in the field, walking in downtown Morristown.

· The Striped Bass – in 2017 it was made the official salt water fish in New Jersey.

· The Brook Trout – is the state’s fresh water fish. It is the only trout native to New Jersey.

· The Bog Turtle – last but not least, it is the smallest of all turtle species in North America and highly endangered.

· The Knobbed Whelk – also know as a conch shell…conch fritters anyone? Actually in NJ’s more cooler waters than its tropical cousin (the conch) this shell is home to a sea snail.

What do you think of this list? Can you think of an animal, insect, fish or reptile that is uniquely Jersey?