As Survey Returns to Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island, HOPE 2005 Offers a First-Ever Look at Street Homelessness in the Bronx and Queens

-Hundreds of Volunteers Stepping Forward, Hundreds Still Needed-

February 16, 2005 - Department of Homeless Services’ Commissioner Linda Gibbs today encouraged concerned New Yorkers from every borough to participate in this year’s Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE 2005: The NYC Street Survey). The all night event, in which teams of volunteers canvass streets, parks, and subways to find individuals living without homes, begins Monday, February 28, at 10:30 pm. The information that is collected improves the ability of city outreach teams to help individuals leave the streets behind for a better life. Community members who are interested in volunteering for the event can click here or call 311 and ask for the “homeless street count.” This year marks the first year that the street survey will include all five boroughs, producing the first-ever citywide estimate of street homeless individuals.

“The Department of Homeless Services would be unable to conduct this large-scale survey without hundreds of community members dedicating a single night to help out,” noted Commissioner Gibbs. “HOPE volunteers represent the diversity of our great city - from students and church members to social workers, business leaders, and city employees. HOPE is a great way to help homeless New Yorkers – and I encourage concerned community members to sign up today.”

Commissioner Gibbs also announced today that half of the 2,000 volunteers needed for the event have already registered. In addition to hundreds of community volunteers, celebrity and corporate donors have also stepped forward to make this year’s event – one of the largest volunteer events in the city – a huge success. Bakery-café Au Bon Pain has partnered with the city to provide coffee and baked goods to volunteers in each of the 26 training centers on the night of the event.

In an October 2004 report, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) identified New York City’s street survey methodology as a HUD standard for statistically valid methodology and a model for other cities. New HUD policies now require that cities conduct an annual census to help secure federal funding for homeless services. Last year, the HOPE survey found 1,482 street homeless individuals in Manhattan, 414 in Brooklyn, and 216 in Staten Island. An additional 582 individuals were estimated to be in subway stations and subway cars in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

“Street homelessness isn’t just a Manhattan issue – and this event reflects our proactive approach to reducing street homelessness throughout the five boroughs,” continued Commissioner Gibbs. “By repeating the survey year after year, we will be able to track if our outreach is effective or if new strategies are needed.”

HOPE 2005 is an initiative from Uniting for Solutions Beyond Shelter, the city’s five-year action plan to end chronic homelessness. A key component of that action plan is reducing street homelessness – and addressing key service needs in all communities in which street homelessness proliferates. The data collected through HOPE will help the city establish first-ever community targets and goals for reducing the number of people that remain outside.