LI groups aim to prepare winter shelters

The calendar may say summer, but Vivian Hart is already thinking about winter.

Hart, executive director of Pronto of Long Island, wants to create a nightly drop-in winter shelter for the homeless in Bay Shore, Brentwood and Central Islip churches, similar to programs in Huntington and on the East End.

"We're carrying a big load in terms of services, advocacy and support. But we do know the importance of this issue," Hart said.

Homelessness across Long Island continues to challenge community outreach organizations like Pronto, as reflected in numbers from the one-day homeless count that the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless conducts every January.

Recently released numbers from the 2011 survey show a 45 percent increase in the number of homeless individuals counted in Suffolk County -- from 455 in 2010 to 662 this year -- and a 30 percent increase in Nassau County -- from 286 in 2010 to 372 in 2011. The number of homeless families dropped by 16 percent in Suffolk County, but rose by nearly 19 percent in Nassau County.

The count, which occurred on Jan. 25 in Nassau and Jan. 27 in Suffolk, requires volunteers to spread out across Long Island to find people living on the streets.

Greta Guarton, executive director of the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless, which coordinates the count, said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development uses the numbers in determining how much funding each region receives for homelessness assistance.

The count is a snapshot of the situation, but not definitive. Volunteers don't seek out people living in the woods or abandoned buildings because of the possibility of danger.

"The homeless frequently move and it is difficult to capture exact figures given the movement of the population," said Karen Garber, spokeswoman for the Nassau County Department of Social Services. Still, she said, "the point-in-time study seems to be the most accurate tool available."

Ed Hernandez, deputy commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Social Services, said he believed the true number of homeless is "absolutely higher."

"It's an interesting set of numbers that have some use, but it really is not reflective of the true state of homelessness at the time," he said.