Homelessness in the United States has been steadily increasing over the last decade, a trend exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent affordability crisis that increased the cost of food and housing across much of the country.
While typically thought of as a problem affecting cities, homelessness has a major impact on smaller communities like New Paltz, which may have fewer services providing aid to unhoused people.
In Ulster County, there were 22.4 homeless people per 10,000 residents in 2022. This was higher than the national average of 17.4 and nearly double the rate for the remainder of New York, excluding New York City.
According to the Ulster County Clerk website, New Paltz had around 15,000 residents in 2024, which according to the national average means there are likely 34 individuals surviving through the town’s difficult winters and broiling summers without any permanent shelter.
In New Paltz specifically, services for the homeless are lacking. While there are multiple food pantries, and the village has the Free Food Fridge, there are a lack of services related exclusively to housing.
In the town’s emergency resources information document, there is no mention of temporary or emergency housing resources. Findhelp.org, an organization that helps individuals in need locate free or reduced-cost services, lists no temporary housing resources for the Town of New Paltz. Compare this to the neighboring Town of Woodstock, which has a population much smaller than New Paltz, yet has made attempts at providing more accessible services to the homeless.
Previously, the Town of New Paltz opened the town hall as a warming shelter, which could house people in extreme weather. Unfortunately, the town stopped offering this service in January due to a lack of volunteer help and damage to the building.
The City of Kingston contains a proper emergency shelter, the Darmstadt shelter, operated by Family of Woodstock, but Kingston is a 20-minute drive from New Paltz. Many homeless people do not have transportation, cannot relocate due to health conditions or do not want to leave their communities. The Darmstadt shelter can also only provide housing for 21 individuals, a far cry from the 438 homeless individuals that lived in Ulster County in January 2020.
The closest thing New Paltz has to a warming shelter is the Elting Memorial Library in the village. However, the library has limited hours, especially on weekends, meaning those who use the building to stay warm can only do so for a short time.
Some local business owners, such as the former owner of KonTiki Trading Post Maryann Tozzi, let individuals remain in their stores during operating hours.
“When I had my store, my goal was community, taking care of each other,” Tozzi said.
Prior to the store’s closing, Tozzi let homeless individuals remain in the store and gave them coffee to drink so long as they were not bothering customers. She said she did not have the heart to kick someone out into the cold just because they couldn’t purchase something.
“I’m a sap. I’m a sucker. I’m okay with that,” Tozzi said.
Tozzi was friends with Jessica Guerrero, the founder of the New Paltz Facebook community page New Paltz Direct Action for The Homeless, which she began in 2021.
According to Tozzi, the two wanted to gather all the individuals in New Paltz who were caring for the homeless population into one community that could work together. The group has since aimed to provide direct, immediate aid to the homeless in New Paltz.
Guerrero, a self-described boots-on-the-ground activist, got involved in activism after taking in a homeless woman and allowing her to stay until she obtained a more permanent residence.
“We have a significant homeless population that New Paltz absolutely refuses to acknowledge,” Guerrero said. “My belief is that every human being has a right to basic housing, and I will not turn a blind eye to the situation that is going on here in New Paltz.”
“The resources in New Paltz are lacking,” she said.
Editor’s Note: This story includes quotes from Jessica Guerrero, who is now deceased. Prior to her passing, she spoke to The Oracle about her work helping New Paltz residents in need.
