Reports blast Patchogue for care of homeless

Two national reports are blasting the village of Patchogue for "criminalizing" its homeless population. The reports accuse Patchogue of arresting homeless along with real lawbreakers on charges such

News 12 Staff

Jan 12, 2006, 11:46 PM

Updated 6,900 days ago

Share:

Two national reports are blasting the village of Patchogue for "criminalizing" its homeless population.
The reports accuse Patchogue of arresting homeless along with real lawbreakers on charges such as loitering, alcohol violations and urinating in public. Patchogue is also criticized for streamlining its justice court to process the increase in violators, many of whom are homeless.
Pastor Pete Campo helps run the homeless program in Patchogue, which he says feeds between 1,200 and 1,400 people a week. Social Services says about 2,000 homeless use Suffolk shelters, but it has no estimates for how many are living on the street.