The homeless

Map: Courtesy Department Of Homeless Services

“New Yorkers don’t know what to do when they see homeless people,” says Maryanne Schretzman, deputy commissioner of policy and planning for the Department of Homeless Services. “They don’t realize they can call 311 and we’ll send out help.” On Mon 28, DHS will dispatch thousands of volunteers across all five boroughs for its sixth annual Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE). Teams will comb subways, parks, bridges, boardwalks and more in search of unsheltered bodies. The count is then extrapolated and used to track DHS’ progress, inform policy makers and offer feedback to other outreach organizations. The gold patches you see here represent a HOPE sampling of the high- and low-density areas DHS charted last year—and the number of unsheltered homeless individuals (people who do not take advantage of the shelter system, preferring instead to battle the elements on their own) discovered in each borough on that single night.

Stop gawking and start helping! Volunteer for Mon 28’s HOPE count at nyc.gov/html/dhs.