When discussing homelessness in New York, many think about New York City, but Long Island is rarely brought into the conversation, despite the recent increase in the homeless population. The rise in homelessness is evident as more people are seeking help and resources than ever before. It is harsh to see a community that so many people call home, be inundated with this issue. Drastic changes need to be brought about to fight this epidemic that is becoming exacerbated throughout our neighborhoods.
The homeless population in New York navigates a constant cycle of uncertainty and despair. Whether their situation is due to inadequate mental health support, abusive family situations, or economic circumstances, these forgotten people fight against unspeakable hardships.
To measure this, “The Housing and Urban Development Department” has created the Point-In-Time Count, a yearly census of all recorded homeless people. According to their website, New York State is home to 103,200 homeless people as of 2023’s PIT Count, the second largest homeless population in the nation. Of the homeless population of NYS, about 50% of them were less than 18 years old or between the ages of 25 and 34. Additionally, the total population is primarily Black (64%) and white (29%) individuals. Over 93,000 of New York’s homeless are sheltered in emergency shelters, which are designed for people who can no longer live at their previous residences.
Even with this data available, many Long Island residents are unfamiliar with the scope of the issue, especially within their towns. As an unfortunate result, the homeless population on Long Island lacks the resources and support needed to find safety and shelter.
Oftentimes homeless individuals stray away from the help of authorities due to past experiences of mistreatment and brutality. Many local governments, such as the Town of Brookhaven on Long Island, have police officers arrive on calls regarding homeless individuals. “So, Suffolk County Police are called about an individual camping out. They will be offered services. “Suffolk County Police Department” has different organizations, community or government, to help get people back on track,” says Deputy Mayor Kassay of Port Jefferson. While sounding efficient in theory, this can be intimidating to a homeless person, especially if they have a mental health issue. Instead of this approach, towns should enact local agencies geared toward helping the homeless population get back on their feet and find long-term solutions.
Long Island has, concerningly, only a few government programs designed to aid the homeless population. When asked about the rising issue of homelessness in Port Jefferson, Deputy Mayor Kassay states, “There are no codes that [Port Jefferson Code Enforcement] follow regarding someone sleeping outside… The village contacts “Suffolk County Police” to refer the person in need to a shelter which can provide for them.” This is not a long-term solution and merely provides temporary respite for the homeless, leaving the cycle to repeat indefinitely.
The police being the first line of response to homeless individuals only perpetuates the idea that homelessness is a crime. When the public views the homeless population as something to fear, it prevents any community collaboration and mutual aid that would help solve the issue. Instead, communities simply ignore those suffering from homelessness or call the police, which does not serve the homeless population and only exacerbates the original fear.
Compared to Long Island, New York City’s “Department of Homelessness Services” has contracted Street Outreach Teams to respond to moments of crisis for homeless individuals. These groups were intended to offer a helping hand and encourage the use of additional services for the homeless, including shelters and drop-in centers. Teams such as these could be implemented across Long Island to better serve the homeless population and decrease the level of distrust in institutions. However, Long Island severely lacks measures to help the homeless population. Even those that do exist are sorely lacking and fail to properly serve the community.
Many places on Long Island advertise as outreach centers and food distribution centers for the homeless, but when taking a closer look, many seem to not be in operation or look abandoned. Despite leaving a promising image on the Internet, places for those in need could fall flat due to a lack of maintenance, information online, or extended business hours. Because of insufficient state support, shelters on Long Island suffered. “Good Shepherd” in Deer Park has promising reviews on Google. However, there were no interior photos, phone numbers, hours, or website available for the location. When visited, the place was vacant of automobiles or activity and had a surplus of mail stationed out front. What may be a quality residence for those in need rested behind a mysterious and desolate veil. Uncertain who was inside the residence, no further information could be gathered from this location.
What followed was a visit to the “Love and Mercy Church” in Bay Shore, New York. This location promotes a donation center on Google called “Operation Homeless – Food Distribution Center”. While researching their website and Google page, it is shown that their program for the homeless and distribution center are different from each other. The website states, “Local families that are struggling to make ends meet can contact the church and be added to the list of people the church loves to help by supplying both perishable and nonperishable food on a Saturday afternoon.” Upon driving there on a Saturday afternoon, there was no one working and the building was locked. This investigation led to questions: What is Operation Homeless? How are homeless people meant to find a phone and receive food fast if there is a waiting list and they are starving? Just a few blocks from this location, despite the handful of centers for the needy in Bay Shore, was a man in need with a sign requesting aid. Visits to other Long Island church websites were a gray area as well, between the unknown contributions promised to the homeless community as well as where community donations were going.
While there are many causes of homelessness, a driving economic problem for New Yorkers has been the rise of rent and housing prices. What is the new standard for lower-income housing in New York State?
On Long Island, the average price of rent is $2,630 a month, according to US Housing Data. A person working full-time with a minimum wage job paying $16 an hour would barely be able to afford their rent alone. In addition to rent costs, housing prices have gone up exponentially across the State of New York. Since 2014, median sales prices for houses on Long Island have increased by an estimated percentage of 57%. The increased unaffordability of housing makes it difficult for individuals and families to adapt to the changing prices and increases in spending. Considering how high the cost of living is in New York, it is not surprising how many people fall into the cycle of homelessness within the state.
While significant, rising housing costs are not unique to Long Island and several areas are developing strategies to counteract their impact on lower-income families. The city of New York has already implemented several programs to ease the stress of rent and prevent eviction. Governor Kathy Hochul enacted the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative, making housing vouchers available to eligible families and preventing evictions. This is a part of the FHEPS program, which provides rent supplements to tenants who cannot afford their rent in full. With these initiatives, families no longer have to worry about the looming threat of eviction and can stay in their homes. In contrast, Long Island has very few homelessness prevention methods in terms of housing and rent payments.
If lacking the basic means to support oneself wasn’t enough, the struggles of homeless people are seen on numerous fronts. They are not treated well socially by the public or the police. They are forced to travel between shelters, which have problems and are often not enough to rejuvenate their livelihood and financial status. The incorporated villages of Long Island refer the homeless to the county for help instead of having in-house programs for their loyal populations. Statistics indicate that a majority of homeless have recently left their previous residence, which indicates that towns and cities are not providing proper, affordable housing. To solve the problem, towns need to impose limits on the fluctuating markets of housing and apartments to slow down the crisis. On Long Island specifically, towns can invest more in mental health and housing facilities for those in need instead of relying on underfunded non-profits. Lastly, if all of these facilities were given the funding for better advertising and community engagement, then this would increase the rate of people finding locations integral to their survival.
While it is a pervasive issue in our society, there are solutions to homelessness if our society is willing to work towards them. It takes combined effort and significant change, but a future without homelessness is possible.