Nassau County 'Warmbed' Program for the Homeless to Begin Thanksgiving Eve

With cold weather approaching in the coming weeks, Nassau County officials recently announced that they will kick off a new program for local homeless residents on Wednesday.

WARMBED, Nassau County’s Emergency Shelter Relief Program for homeless individuals and families during the winter months, will be activated at 4:45 p.m. on Nov. 23.

The new program allows homeless residents to call the hotline at 1-866-927-6233 (1-866- WARMBED) to be immediately connected to a person to help them find a warm place to stay.

The hotline will run 7 days a week between 4:45 p.m. and 8 a.m. Monday thru Thursday, and Friday from 4:45 p.m. thru Monday at 8 a.m., until March 31 or until warmer weather arrives.

Employees from WARMBED and the Department of Social Services (DSS) will make help to place residents in a proper shelter and once placed, the staff will contact those who are homeless in order to access resources for permanent housing.

Veterans are also encouraged to take advantage of the WARMBED program, where they will be assisted by the Nassau County Veterans Services Agency.

“No resident should have to spend nights in the freezing cold when they can call the Nassau County Hotline and be placed in a warm shelter right away,” County Executive Edward Mangano said. "Help is really just a phone call away."

Last year, a total of 287 individuals were housed by the WARMBED program including 219 adults and 68 children.