by Victoria Ryan
United Veterans Beacon House (UVBH), headquartered in Bay Shore, NY, recently unveiled its renovated, Victorian-style group home in Freeport as part of its newly launched Restoring Homes, Restoring Hope initiative. The event drew widespread media coverage, while 13 formerly homeless veterans now have a modernized and clean home befitting their service to our nation. But much work remains.
Restoring Homes, Restoring Hope is an invitation to the business community on Long Island – many of which employ veterans that benefitted from UVBH’s varied programs, including job skills training – to adopt, in whole or in part, one of the remaining ten group homes in dire need of rehabilitation. Beacon House has assisted nearly 30,000 Long Island veterans since its inception in 1994, and it operates dozens of group homes in both Nassau and Suffolk counties. These homes house both men and women, and in some cases, families with children.
Following many years of service to numerous residents, the homes eventually age into varying levels of disrepair, which require updates and improvements not entirely covered by existing funding sources. The remaining ten group homes in need of renovation are in Huntington, Islip, and Hempstead. An entire residence may be adopted for a full renovation, or parts of it, including the costs for new roofing, painting, landscaping, HVAC, furniture, paving, etc. Alternatively, a donor may perform the needed work. In all, these ten homes shelter over 100 veterans.
The Freeport renovation project was undertaken in its entirety by the Bolla Charity Foundation, founded by Mr. and Mrs. Harry Singh, which earlier “adopted” another group home in Levittown. At the ribbon cutting in July for the Freeport home, the gratitude of the veteran residents was written on the faces of each of them as they entered the formerly dated home. Some were quiet as they simply wandered through the rooms, taking in the modern kitchen, fresh paint, and new furniture. Others were more demonstrable, shaking hands and smiling, reveling in what they perceive as their relatively good fortune in calling this place “home.”
“I have yet to meet a living soul that regretted helping a veteran,” says Frank Amalfitano, president, and CEO of United Veterans Beacon House. Restoring Homes, Restoring Hope is an opportunity [for the business community] to help numerous veterans at one time, and to see a tangible result of that assistance.” Participants in the Restoring Homes, Restoring Hope program are recognized in both Newsday and Long Island Business News, at the agency’s annual gala — attended by nearly 500 supporters each year — and through promotion on social media and media coverage.
At the ribbon cutting, a plaque is presented, bearing the name of the donors, before a crowd of veterans, supporters, and friends. The plaque is then placed as a permanent fixture on the property, acknowledging the generosity of the donors. For information on how to participate, please contact Tina Sferrazza at UVBH at 631.665.1571 or tina@uvbh.com