The Search for a Place to Call Home
By Katelin Quest
Staff Writer
Nassau County’s homeless population of more than 12,000 is struggling against an environment of limited housing opportunities and aid.
Staff Writer
Nassau County’s homeless population of more than 12,000 is struggling against an environment of limited housing opportunities and aid.
According to the New York State Health Department, Hempstead is one of seven communities of Nassau County with the highest proportions of people at or below poverty level. The county is getting $7 million in federal money to help people who are chronically homeless.
But experts say more is needed.
Brian Fox, associate program director of the Leader to Leader Institute told Nassau News that, “emergency and transitional housing programs for families with special needs are minimal in Nassau County.”
Established in 1990 as the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management, the Leader to Leader Institute provides resources and services that enhance the leadership capabilities of social directors and their partners. The institute has created the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Children Project.
Bethany House, a Long Island program, is an organization that operates under the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Children Project. Bethany House is located in the heart of Roosevelt and it is the only shelter that specifically assists mothers in the town of Hempstead. The residence provides supportive housing combined with resources and services to assist young mothers in recovering from a crisis situation.
Bethany House joins Regina House and Mommas House as non-profit organizations that provide homes and services for young mothers who have no where else to live such but are spread thinly throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
Rosemary Olsen, a director of Nassau County’s Office of Housing, told Nassau News that a program is being designed to alleviate the problem.
“Currently our staff is working on a plan to develop more housing for the homeless throughout Nassau County. Our department has acknowledged the growing problem and we look to open two more homeless shelters within the next five years. Funding is limited so it will take some time before these shelters are up and running,” Olsen said.
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