Dozens gathered in Deer Park to raise awareness for the homeless at a candlelight vigil Monday.

The event was sponsored by the Nassau-Suffolk Coalition for the Homeless and comes a week after a homeless Brentwood man died while trying to keep warm inside a tent. Police say the man inhaled fumes and smoke from a fire he lit inside the tent.

Joan Noguera, a member of the coalition, says that many Long Islanders are left out in the cold and are forced to sleep in cars, shelters and other areas not fit for human inhabitation. Noguera reminds everyone that just because the holiday season is over, there are still thousands of local people in need of help.