2025 Blog Posts

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.

This year Giving Tuesday is on December 2nd. It is always held on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving with 2025 being its 10th year. The website Giving Tuesday states, “The idea behind Giving Tuesday was to set aside a single day to counter consumerism by giving back.” The day has grown to a global event even with Thanksgiving being uniquely American.

So, what does it mean to give back. Bret Bicox, President & CEO, Door County Community Foundation states, “The 5 T’s of charitable giving are: time, treasure, talent, ties and testimony. You give time when you share your energy and physical presence as you volunteer for an organization. Giving your treasure refers to the monetary and financial contributions you make. A gift of your talent is when you lend your uncommon skills to a charity, such as sharing your investment acumen, financial expertise, legal counsel or other specialized knowledge. You are giving your ties whenever you connect an organization to potential donors in your personal network of friends and colleagues. Giving your testimony refers to the advocacy work you do on behalf of a charity, as in sharing stories of its impact and effectiveness with others in the community.”

As we head into the busy holiday season, Giving Tuesday is a reminder to think of others and how we can make a difference. Asha Curran, CEO of Giving Tuesday says about the day, “When millions unite with a shared purpose, we don’t just give what we can—we create real, tangible change. Each donation, each act of generosity, is a building block for community solutions that actually make a difference.”

Many of us use Trinity Street in Newton as a cut thru to get to Water Street / Rt. 206 and the big box stores, me included. In fact, a few years back before I started working at Family Promise of Sussex County, I thought I was coasting down Trinity getting ready to turn into Stuart / Diller when I was clocked and then pulled over by Newton PD for speeding. I explained to the officer that I’ve never received a ticket (true statement) and to this day I still have that distinction.

But back to the tiny house…have you ever noticed it? It’s set back from Trinity Street all by itself. It’s a Victorian style home that looks like an oversized doll house. While I could not find any definitive facts about this tiny house, one story is that a father built the home as a doll house for his daughter. It has also been stated that there was a full size Victorian home on the property where now you see garages.

It is quite interesting to note that our tiny house of Newton happens to be on Trinity Street. In doing research for this blog, I learned that Philadelphia in the late 1600’s decided to build what was known as trinity houses. From an article posted on Real Estate and Home as a response to a rapid rise in development and a need for affordable housing, the locals, “moved into houses built in alleys between the main streets. The small house lots dictated a style of house that could fit on them. Enter the trinity. The trinity gets its name from its form — a three-story house containing three rooms, stacked one atop the other.”

Maybe we can learn from what some of our original settlers did. Find creative and cost effective solutions to the affordable housing crisis. With this new information when I’m driving through Trinity Street (obeying the speed limit of course) I will look at our tiny house in a whole new way.

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?