Overview
- The region counted more than 4,500 people homeless in 2025, a 13% increase from 2024 and the highest total since tracking began in 2007, according to the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless.
- Children now make up roughly a third of the total, with about 1,500 in Nassau and Suffolk, following a 20% rise in under‑18 homelessness on Long Island between 2022 and 2024 reported by the state comptroller.
- Middle‑aged and older adults saw the sharpest increases, including a jump of over 35% for those 45–54 and an increase from just over 670 to 825 for people 55 and older in the latest count.
- The deep freeze is especially perilous for those outdoors, with Northwell’s street medicine team estimating about 30% of single adults in Suffolk are unsheltered versus 5% in New York City, where at least 10 people died during this week’s storm.
- Local responses include pet food distribution at Hempstead’s Mary Brennan INN, a $20 million conversion of the Long Beach Motor Inn into veteran housing, and Suffolk DSS outreach to encampments, while advocates press for more investment in housing, outreach and job training.