Morris County Community Resource Exchange connects service providers with local leaders

PARSIPPANY-TROY HILLS, N.J. (Morris County) — More than 45 service providers gathered Friday for the fifth annual Morris County Community Resource Exchange, an event designed to connect nonprofit and government organizations with public officials and community leaders. Morris County records list this year’s event for Sept. 18.

The event, held outside the Morris County Nonprofit Mall off Central Avenue, showcased organizations providing assistance with food and housing insecurity, behavioral health, aging and disabilities, veterans’ needs and other services.

Morris County Commissioner Christine Myers, liaison to the Morris County Department of Human Services, welcomed participants.

“The Community Resource Exchange reflects an important idea: the better connected we are, the better we can serve those in need,” said Commissioner Myers. “When someone reaches out to one organization, they’re connecting to a much larger network of help.

The annual event is intended to make public officials and community leaders aware of services available to residents who may need assistance. Resource tables included information on food assistance, housing, health and behavioral health services, legal aid, services for children and families, veterans’ services, workforce development and assistance for older adults and people with disabilities.

“This event that we have been doing for five years is so important, because everybody has a piece in it,” said Kasey Errico, director of the Morris County Department of Human Services. “Think of somebody in your community who is struggling in some way. How can we help, talk through that, problem-solve and make those connections? Because that is what this is about. We are a community here.”

Participating organizations included Saint Clare’s Health, Zufall Health Clinic, the Interfaith Food Pantry Network, Cornerstone Family Programs, Table to Table, the Morris County Housing Authority, the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency, the Family Support Organization of Morris & Sussex Counties, the Morris County Division of Public Health and the Morris County Sheriff’s Office’s Project Lifesaver program.

Mark Dinglasan, executive director of the New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate, served as the featured speaker and discussed factors contributing to food insecurity and efforts to address the issue.

“Morris County has been doing this right since 2021, before the United Nations’ definition for food security came out in 2022,” Dinglasan said. “We need to connect. We need to create programs that are just as interconnected and highly complex as the problems families are facing… If we do enough of that, we can build interconnected programs that create a community and a culture of radical hospitality.”

Assemblywoman Marisa Sweeney also spoke at the event and introduced Dinglasan.

“We may represent different organizations, we may serve different populations, but we’re all here for the same reason: to make sure that when somebody in our community is struggling, they know that they’re not alone,” Sweeney said.

Following the presentations, participants visited resource tables and networked with other service providers.

The Community Resource Exchange is organized annually by a steering committee representing the Morris County Department of Human Services, ARC/Morris, Family Promise of Morris County, the Interfaith Food Pantry Network and the Morris County Continuum of Care.