Long Island is facing a recent spike in the unhoused population, with more than 4,500 people living on the streets, according to data from the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless.

With this uptick,Northwell Healthhas continued its efforts to serve unhoused clients across Nassau and Suffolk counties populations, the only healthcare organization doing this work, said Mary Mahoney, nurse practitioner and vice president of Emergency Management and Clinical Preparedness at Northwell.

As food and rent prices continue to rise, Mahoney said the entire country has seen an increase in people experiencing homelessness. Long Island, however, has not seen this many people living outside since 2007.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development conducts an annual Point-in-Time count of people experiencing homelessness across the country. LICH’s count was compiled in January during the month’s coldest day.

Mahoney said the January count did not capture the full number and the true number is most likely higher.

Apartments across the island under $2,500 per month have been nearly impossible to find, according to a recent report fromNewsday. People looking for housing not only need enough money for the first month’s rent, but the last month’s rent and a security deposit.

“There’s a shortage of affordable housing on Long Island,” Mahoney said. “[Our clients] can’t afford what it takes to get into the rental. They can’t afford the three months of rent before the rent, because they’re just barely making the rent.”

Mahoney serves as the lead clinician on Northwell’s Street Medicine team, which was developed two years ago, after healthcare teams began dedicating time getting Long Island’s unhoused vaccinated during the pandemic.

Thevaccination initiativeat Northwell was originally started by Debbie Salas-Lopez, who runs the Institute for Community Health and Wellness.

“During that time, we recognized that there was a large unhoused population,” Mahoney said. “It was very difficult for us to reach them and to … make sure that they were being taken care of with the vaccine.”

Source: LI Press