Officials in New York’s North Country are reporting an increase in homelessness at the same time the state comptroller is pointing to alarming trends.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires an annual single day count of homeless individuals every January.
The United Way of Clinton County works with community partners to count unsheltered individuals in the region for the Point in Time report.
ETC Housing Executive Director Amanda Haley-Beaudette says the main goal is to aid those in need of shelter.
“Our goal in doing this is to offer support services, to try to get them inside and to see what we can do to help them. This data is important because it helps us get funding and shows where our housing needs are. In 2024 our numbers doubled from 2023. This year our numbers are even higher and we know we have an unsheltered population,” reported Haley-Beaudette. “It’s really important that we gather this information to get this snapshot and show why this is an issue and what can we do to help our unsheltered population.”
Clinton County Commissioner of Social Services Christine Peters said once unnoticed, the homeless population in the region is becoming more apparent. Stakeholders have formed a homelessness steering committee to address a growing problem.
“These are our residents. These are not a migrant population. The migrant population has not made a significant increase in our unsheltered or sheltered homeless population,” said Peters. “So people should know these are our neighbors. We have been trying to increase awareness. We need to commit our entire community to a comprehensive strategy.”
Peters listed a number of factors, both regionally and nationally, contributing to the rise in homelessness.
“The increase in housing costs; the increase in serious mental illness; the increase in substance abuse. I mean, I think if you look at our country, we’re seeing an increase in many issues, social issues, that I think sort of started out during the pandemic and they’ve really burgeoned since then,” Peters noted.
United Way of the Adirondack Region CEO John Bernardi added:
“Inflation has exacerbated a lot of the challenges that families are facing, cost of rent, cost of living,” Bernardi said
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli issued a report on the same day indicating the number of homeless people in New York grew 53.1 percent between January 2023 and January 2024 and one in three are children. Outside of New York City his report found increases in homelessness of 30 percent in Franklin and Essex counties and 138 percent in Glens Falls, Saratoga Springs and surrounding counties. DiNapoli says there are challenges to people accessing available services and moving into permanent housing.
“And I think it’s not only a question of finding more affordable housing that’s permanent. But for some of these families you often need supportive housing. You need services that can help them really make that transition back into the mainstream,” DiNapoli said.
Officials are planning to open the first warming shelter in Clinton County in a few weeks at the MHAB Center in Plattsburgh.
