Republican mayor says Jon Bon Jovi’s soup kitchen is attracting homeless folks | EUROtoday

The Republican mayor of a Jersey Shore township is reportedly annoyed that rock legend Jon Bon Jovi’s library soup kitchen is attracting homeless folks to the world.

Toms River Mayor Daniel Rodrick complained that Bon Jovi’s “JBJ Soul Kitchen” was bringing folks he did not need into the group and disturbing residents. He claimed that organizations have been being paid to carry folks into the group and that their intentions have been pushed by revenue, not compassion.

“These people are being dropped by in our community by agencies pretending to be homeless advocates who get paid by the head to import homeless people into our town from all over the state and the East Coast,” Rodrick mentioned, in keeping with the New York Post. “These agencies are making millions of dollars importing homeless. Their plan is not about compassion; it’s about people wanting to profit off the homeless issue.”

The pop-up “Soul Kitchen” opened on February 11. It permits diners to pay for the meals of future clients, with a urged value of $12. By paying their meals ahead, individuals who cannot afford meals can make the most of free meals.

The cafe is open from 10 am to 2 pm on Tuesdays by Fridays and has a number of areas within the state. Bon Jovi’s spouse, Dorothea, runs the nonprofit restaurant chain and instructed the Post that they’ll proceed their work and that their restaurant will proceed to function in Toms River.

“The JBJ Soul Foundation and JBJ Soul Kitchen are committed to ending homelessness through real solutions. We are not here to just move people around or force them into the shadows. Our Foundation has built nearly a thousand units of affordable and supportive housing,” Dorothea and the rocker mentioned in a joint assertion on Friday.

The assertion goes on to say the nonprofit connects “people to resources and services” whether or not “they need employment, mental health support, or housing.”

The couple additionally questioned Rodrick’s claims that businesses have been making a living by dropping off homeless folks in his city.

“We are unsure where the mayor thinks millions of dollars are trading hands, but we are completely unaware of any such programs and receive no such funding,” they mentioned. “We invite anyone to the BEAT Center in Toms River or to the JBJ Soul Kitchen Pop-Up to see what we are doing to end homelessness and hunger in our community.”

Rodrick mentioned that he had obtained a number of complaints about rising numbers of homeless people close to the township’s municipal parking storage and on benches close to the native library.

“They’ve completely ignored all of our complaints and concerns,” Rodrick said on county officials. “Mothers shouldn’t have to walk through large gangs of intoxicated and mentally ill men with their children to borrow a book.”