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Long Island gets $4.9M for homes for disabled

Monday November 28, 2011 2:37 PM By Ellen Yan

The U.S. Department of Urban and Housing Development

Photo credit: iStock

A total of $4.9 million will be given to two Long Island groups to buy and renovate properties into homes for people with disabilities, the U.S. Department of Urban and Housing Development recently announced.

Almost $3.2 million has been allocated to Options for Community Living, a Smithtown-based nonprofit that helps people with special needs, from the homeless to people with AIDS and their families.

The money will go to buying and fixing five group homes that will each serve three low-income residents with chronic mental illness, according to the group's proposal to HUD. The funds will also pay for individualized, supportive services for residents, including job and daily living skills that will help them to live as independently as possible, the nonprofit said in its plan.

The other group, Brookville-based AHRC Nassau, is slated to get more than $1.7 million. The nonprofit will use funds to buy two properties and turn them into group homes for people who have turned 21, aging out of their current residences before they can live independently. Each home would accommodate six people and a live-in staff manager.

Mary McNamara, AHRC's director of community resources, said Long Island families have had to send their adult children to out-of-state homes, a hardship that damages progress. The agency runs 77 residences and 55 apartments for people ages 21 and up, and McNamara said she hopes the new funding will bring back more young adults to live closer to their families.

"It's a tremendous need," she said. "All of a sudden, you hit the age of 21 and you're not able to be in the home anymore. These are people who just fall through the cracks.

"To have them be part of the community that has been home to them their entire lives has helped these people grow and be part of a community, lead a typical life."

The HUD funding was part of $749 million announced for low-income seniors and people with disabilities.

Tags: U.S. Department of Urban and Housing Development , people with disabilities , handicapped , Options for Community Living , AHRC Nassau

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