On a bitter cold Tuesday, Northwell Health‘s Street Medicine team and members of the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless (LICH), headquartered in Amityville, participated in a count of the homeless in the region for the “Point-In-Time Count.”
This effort is part of a nationwide tally that is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It is led locally by LICH, which partners with nonprofits to help stamp out homelessness through access to housing and other assistance.
On any given night, there are about 400 people who are homeless and living on the streets of Long Island, experts say.
But this year, they warn, the region may see a crisis in the face of single-digit temperatures ahead of pending federal budget cuts. The number of homeless people on Long Island could jump by as much as 50 percent or even more, said Mike Giuffrida, LICH’s associate director.
Programs, he said in a news release about homelessness on Long Island, “are starting to close in the dead of winter – that’s a death sentence for people forced onto the streets.”
Since 2018, LICH has placed 240 Long Islanders from the streets to supportive housing. Now, Giuffirda said, these Long Islanders could soon face eviction because of pending federal cuts. “This is more than a policy shift,” he said in a news release. “Politics aside, there’s a level of cruelty here.”
As many as 10,000 people a year experience homelessness, according to the news release. Rising costs and a shortage of housing all play a role. And those experiencing homelessness also face disparities such as chronic illness, mental health issues and substance abuse disorders. Suffolk County is facing a particular crisis: About 30 percent of its homeless single adults are unsheltered, compared with 5 percent in New York City, according to LICH.
The Northwell team began going into the field about two years ago, offering wellness visits for homeless Long Islanders, and when needed, writing prescriptions and referring them to specialists. The team helps patients access health insurance, which many already qualify for, including Medicaid and Medicare, according to the news release. The team also has helped 16 clients obtain housing.
“Housing is health,” Dr. Debbie Salas-Lopez, executive vice president of the Institute for Community Health and Wellness at Northwell, said in the news release.
“Our Street Medicine program is a direct manifestation of Northwell’s mission to extend care beyond hospital walls and meet our most vulnerable neighbors where they are, understanding that physical well-being is inextricably linked to stable living conditions,” she added.
“This Point-In-Time Count highlights the urgent need to address homelessness as a critical public health crisis, especially with impending federal cuts threatening to compound an already dire situation for thousands of Long Islanders.”
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