Scores Of Students Homeless Across East End, LI: Report

EAST END, NY — While the East End has experienced a housing boom, with waterfront homes selling for millions and the area a blissful destination for many looking to savor idyllic vistas and wineries, windswept beaches and glorious sunsets — a dark truth exists that few even realize: Hundreds of students in East End school districts are experiencing homelessness.

In the first of a series on homelessness on the East End, Patch took a look at the number of homeless students heading to school every morning in some of the toniest zip codes in the nation.

Homelessness on the East End — known as being the playground for the wealthy — in some cases surpasses other Long Island districts by a wide margin. East End districts with the highest share of homeless students reported figures double, triple or higher than some Suffolk County districts that reflect far lower percentages.

School districts nationwide, including New York, vastly undercount the number of students experiencing homelessness, a critical first step in receiving assistance, according to “Unhoused and Undercounted,” an investigation from the Center for Public Integrity.

Nationwide, the undercounts cut about 300,000 students out of benefits that could help their families, including free transportation to school, according to the investigation by journalists Amy DiPierro and Corey Mitchell of the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit investigative journalism organization.

The groundbreaking analysis, based on the 2018-19 school year before pandemic interruptions in data collection, is the first-ever attempt to quantify how dramatically school districts undercount the number of students experiencing homelessness.

Losing a home can be a critical turning point in a student’s life and federal law requires school districts to help them. About 2,400 school districts nationwide — whether in regions with severe hardship, cities or prosperous suburbs — reported having no students without a regular place to sleep, “despite levels of financial need that make those figures improbable,” DiPierro and Mitchell wrote.

“And many more districts are likely undercounting the number of homeless students they do identify,” they continued. “In nearly half of states, tallies of student homelessness bear no relationship with poverty, a sign of just how inconsistent the identification of kids with unstable housing can be.”

East End school districts worked with Patch to provide updated data on the number of homeless students currently enrolled — and the numbers reflected a reality that exists in stark contrast to the lavish lifestyle enjoyed by many who live in million-dollar mansions and enjoy dazzling ocean or Sound views.

Here are the numbers of homeless students reported in the "Unhoused and Undercounted Study" for the 2018-19 school year.

Riverhead and the North Fork

Riverhead

In the Riverhead Central School District, the study reported that 5.7 percent of the 5,718 students, or 324 students, were homeless.

Greenport

The Greenport Union Free School District reported that 5.3 percent of 677, or 35 students, were homeless.

Southold

For Southold, 2.1 percent of its 778 students, or 16, were homeless.

Mattituck-Cutchogue

The Mattituck-Cutchogue School District reported that 1.4 percent of 1,126 students, or 16 students, were homeless.

Hampton Bays

The Hampton Bays Union Free School District reported that 1.3 percent of its 2,040 students were homeless, or 27 students.

Southampton

The Southampton Union Free School District reported that 1.3 percent, or 21 of its 1,599 students experienced homelessness.

Eastport-South Manor

The Eastport-South Manor reported 1.1 percent of 3,307 students, or 37 students, were homeless.

Bridgehampton

The Bridgehampton Union Free School District reported 6.5 percent of its 215 students, or 14, experienced homelessness.

Westhampton Beach

In Westhampton Beach, 1.2 percent of 1,833, or 22 students, were homeless.

Sag Harbor

The Sag Harbor Union Free School District reported that 0.4 percent experienced homelessness, or 4 students.

Patch recently requested the numbers for the 2022-23 school year from the districts. Here's what they reported.

Riverhead

The Riverhead Central School District reported that 209 students experienced homelessness in the 2022-23 school year. The district reported having a total enrollment of 5,424, representing about 3.85 percent.

"However, this number fluctuates as a result of students being from families of migrant workers. The social workers are currently cross-referencing the data," the district said.

A combination of factors contribute to homelessness, the district said. These include the prevalence of migrant workers due to the large agriculture industry of the Riverhead community, the poverty level of Long Island and the high cost of living in the area.

When asked about services offerered for homeless students, the district said it works closely with BOCES and various agencies to provide services for homeless students and obtain grants.

"The social work staff do an incredible job of working with both students and their families and offer a great deal of support. This is especially seen in the work they do to seamlessly integrate students from migrant worker families into the community," the district said.

Southold

As of this week, 3 of 697 students were experiencing homelessness, said Southold School Superintendent Anthony Mauro.

"This is what we know about," he said.

He added: "There is a myriad of factors that lead to homelessness including economic hardship, family tragedy, dependency, death of a loved one, and trauma, just to name a few. The circumstances that lead to people being homeless can often incorporate multiple situations and each set of circumstances is germane to those individuals."

The district, he said, offers multiple programs that provide meals, transportation, supplies, technology, tutoring, and counseling, as well as other supports.

"Each set of supports is based on the needs of the individual student. Some are developed in the district and others come through state or federal programs," he said.

Mattituck-Cutchogue

The number of students in the Mattituck-Cutchogue UFSD experiencing homelessness increased from 1.4 percent to 2.3 percent, or 4 students out of 1,038, the district told Patch this week. Of those, 67 percent were doubled up with another family, the district said. The remaining 23 percent was comprised of a combination of transitional housing and shelters.

"A significant factor is the lack of workforce housing," the district told Patch.

Services that the district provides homeless students include a community liaison, a food pantry and food delivery, a clothes closet, counseling, transportation, Title 1 set aside homleess funds, and coordination and collaboration with the CAST Center for Advocacy, Support and Transporation as well as Eastern Suffolk BOCES.

Hampton Bays

For the 20220-23 school year, the Hampton Bays school district said 11 students were considered without housing, school officials said.

"Homeless students are provided with transportation if they are placed/sleeping within 50 miles of the school district," the district explained. "The family also has the choice to send the child to the school where they are now residing as a homeless individual. Students are automatically certified for free breakfast and lunch at school."

The district also has set aside money from federal grants that provide school supplies to students. In-house counselors, psychologists and social workers are available to students and to support families, as well, during the challenges of the circumstances, the district said. Finally, students have access to Catie’s Closets and Food For Thought, in-house clothing and food pantries that provide resources to kids in need.

Westhampton Beach

The Westhampton Beach School District said seven students were designated as homeless.

"These students are provided with free breakfast/lunch, transportation to and from school, transportation to participate in afterschool activities, clothing and food support and counseling as needed," the district said.

Sag Harbor

In the Sag Harbor School District, one student was coded as McKinney Vento, a federal program used to coordinate services for homeless youth.

"Some examples of available services that are offered are bus transportation, before and after school care depending on the age of the student, and free breakfast and lunch. Referrals to local community resources and coordination of services is also provided if needed," the district said.

The Greenport, Southampton, Eastport-South Manor, and Bridgehampton School Districts did not immediately respond to a request for updated information.

To put the East End's numbers in perspective, for the 2018 to 2019 school year, here are how other districts compared:

• Smithtown - 0.4 percent
• Huntington- 2.4 percent
• Islip - 1.2 percent
• Lindenhurst - 0.7 percent.
• Miller Place - 0.4 percent
• Rocky Point - 2.1 percent
• Brookhaven-Comsewogue - 1.1 percent
• Patchogue-Medford: 2.3 percent
• Sachem-Central: 1.7 percent
• Three Village Central - 0.5 percent
• Sayville Union - 0.9 percent
• Sachem Central - 1.7 percent
• East Islip - 1.1 percent
• Islip - 1.2 percent
• Bay Shore - 3.1 percent
• Brentwood - 3.3 percent,
• Commack - 0.2 percent
• Kings Park - 0.6 percent
• Northport-East Northport - 0.7 percent
• Oyster Bay-East Norwich - 0.3 percent
• Massapequa - 0.3 percent.

Other Suffolk districts that also reported high percentages of homeless students included:

• William Floyd - 7 percent
• South Country Central - 4.2 percent
• Longwood Central - 3.3 percent
• Wyandanch - 8 percent
• Amityville - 6.6 percent
• Copiague - 4.4 percent.

In Nassau, districts reporting the highest shares included:

• Hempstead - where nearly a quarter of its students experienced homelessness, far exceeding any other district on Long Island.
• Freeport - the district had the second highest at 5.8 percent.

Homelessness has myriad effects on students’ academic performance, including whether they graduate from high school. Failure to graduate can blunt opportunities for stable employment and increase the risk they will continue to experience housing insecurity in adulthood, the Unhoused and Undercounted Study report noted.

According to 2018-19 U.S. Department of Education data, homeless students graduate at much lower rates than students who have regular housing. In New York, students experiencing homelessness graduated at a rate of 59 percent, compared to 83 percent for all students.

Eighteen states saw graduation rates among students experiencing homelessness that were more than 20 percentage points behind the overall rate of graduation in the previous two school years.

The reporters found racial disparities as well, with Black and Latino children experiencing homelessness at disproportionate rates. American Indian and Alaska Native students, as well students with disabilities, were also over-represented. In 36 states and Washington, D.C., the rate of homelessness among Black students was at least twice the rate of all other students.

Nationally, Black students make up about 15 percent of the nation’s public school enrollment, but 27 percent of students experienced homelessness in the 2018 to 2020 school year. Hispanic and Latino students made up 28 percent of enrolled students, but 32 percent of homeless students. Students with disabilities make up 14 percent of the total enrollment, but 19 percent of homeless students.

Schools are required to help homeless students under the McKinley-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

Homeless students are those living in motels, hotels or campgrounds because there are no better options; emergency or transitional shelters; cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations and similar settings; or shuffling between the homes of friends and extended relatives, the report said.

“It’s a largely invisible population. The national conversation on homelessness is focused on single adults who are very visible in large urban areas,” Barbara Duffield, executive director of the Schoolhouse Connection, told the reporters. “It is not focused on children, youth and families. It is not focused on education.”

The Center for Public Integrity made its report available to news organizations nationwide. Read the full report.

Behind the East End's numbers

Dan O'Shea, executive director of Maureen's Haven, a homeless program on the East End, said he sees a different demographic comprised largely of adults, not children.

However, as a whole, O'Shea said he has seen an uptick in homelessness that he attributes to a lack of housing sparked by a spike in real estate prices— with many families having had to find alternative options or move from the area because their rentals were sold.

Those families he said, might be living in local motels, their cars, or RVs, parked at box store lots or highway rest stops.

"One factor is certainly the overall cost of everything," O'Shea said. "Prices have been going up and families have had to make very difficult decisions based on housing. You can't find a house to rent on the East End now. Who's got $3,000 or $4,000 to rent a house?"

Affordable options that once existed have vanished post-pandemic, he said.

O'Shea said he did help one family that had two kids in high school who moved to the East End but ultimately went back to Virginia.

The psychological impact on the teens was noticeable, he said, with young people experiencing anxiety and depression.

"There's a wariness in being new to a school district and not knowing if they're going to be staying. Being in transition is extremely difficult and traumatic for kids of that age."

Simple things, such as a child not having a home to invite kids over for pizza, or not having new toys under the tree like their friends, leave children impacted, he said.

Sister Margaret Smyth of the North Fork Spanish Apostolate, a Riverhead organization that helps those in need, said she has seen a rise in homeless families in recent months as they've lost their rented rooms and apartments – due to the fact that many rental properties have been sold and the stock of availale rentals has shrunk dramatically — and are now without physical addresses.

"We are seeing so many more children," she said. This Christmas alone, the North Fork Spanish Apostolate is providing $25 gift cards to 500 families, to buy toys, food , and supplies. They also have collected coats and toys — but not enough, she said.

The homeless that she serves can typically find help through the Department of Social Services, who finds motel or hotel options either nearby, or at points west — in which case, students are bussed back to their home districts.

So far, Sister Margaret said she has not heard of any kids or families living in encampments in the woods, although both she and O'Shea said there are many such areas where the adult homeless are currently living on the East End.

The demographics of those suddenly homeless reflect "everyone across the board," Sister Margaret said.

Many do not want to move out of the area, she and O'Shea said, because they work in their hometowns, have children enrolled in schools there, and have deep and longtime ties to their communities.

Becoming homeless has a tremendous impact on children, she said. "They might have to change schools. They don't see their friends. They live in fear, thinking, 'Where are we going to sleep tonight?'"