Newark resident Hakeem Alan has juggled a few jobs in life - carpet-layer, construction worker, car-detailer. But six years ago the 50-year-old became homeless. It was the culmination of several difficult events that included his health deteriorating, and his family moving away.

He now spends most of his days strolling the corridors of Newark Penn Station and the city's downtown. Sometimes, he sleeps on trains, or on the street. Alan said it's hard to get help, but he has an idea of what would work:

"If (the city) had like a big building and let everybody go in there and let they get their self together," Alan said, while shuffling on two thickly bandaged feet through Penn Station. But it wouldn't just be a place to sleep, he said. It would also tackle some of those demons that make it had to climb out of homelessness.

The homeless are "dealing with the mental, they got the physical," he said.

His vision is not all that different from what  Vickie Donaldson is planning. She's Newark's new director of homeless services. After months of planning, she will be presenting to Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and the City Council a plan for a city-run homeless shelter that will provide emergency shelter to clients. 

Donaldson, who has worked in homeless services in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, says the key to her plan is providing help to those who come to the shelter to find housing.

Her proposal comes as the city is experiencing a revival downtown. There is a Whole Foods and Starbucks, art galleries and new apartments Baraka hopes will attrack millenials and New Yorkers to posh lofts. The presence of homeless residents downtown stands in contrast, particularly at the train station that serves as a gateway to social, cultural and sporting events for visitors.

Donaldson said there are 1,758 homeless people in Newark. The city does not run a shelter, like New York. Rather, it funds 31 non-profits the serve them. But Donaldson said it's not a cohesive structure, and each agency has its own rules for accepting clients - such as requiring a voucher, or a home address. Those who can't meet those requirements often stay on the streets.

"If you walk into Penn Station and you see hundreds of homeless people, it's because there is not a place that will take them tonight, or on a Sunday afternoon or without requiring that they have 50 different qualifications," she said.

Donaldson hopes to get the City Council's go ahead within 6 months.