The Long Island Coalition for the Homeless is coordinating a count of sheltered and unsheltered homeless people in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Greta Guarton, executive director of the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless, says that the group will be spending time at LIRR stations, where homeless people have been known to frequent due to the warm waiting areas.

Guarton says that the homeless count helps them determine where federal funding is most needed. It also helps the coalition discover where its efforts are most effective.

The coalition is hoping to find as many people as it can to learn more about their situations and to offer help.

Some homeless people who spoke to News 12 said that shelters can be dangerous, and that they would rather take their chances out in the cold.

There are nearly 4,000 people who are considered Long Island's hidden homeless, according to the group.