Long Island, NY– On Monday, May 14, 2018 New Ground unveiled their 2-family Veterans Program house, a beautifully renovated home that will provide a stable environment to Veteran families as they work to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty.
New Ground staff, New Ground Board and Advisory Board members, Congressman Thomas Suozzi, Town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci, Councilwoman Joan Cergol, Councilman Edmund J.M. Smyth, Councilman Dennis Dunne, business and community partners, and more gathered to celebrate the opening of this home. Many individuals and businesses donated during the renovations of the home to create a beautiful environment for these Veteran families in need. Huntington resident and business owner Grant Havasy of Blue & Gold Homes donated services and materials as the General Contractor for this project, and AvalonBay Communities donated landscaping, fencing and furnishings with representatives spending their annual volunteer day onsite to install new fencing and upgrade the landscaping for the property. Other community partners in attendance included representatives from the Northport VA, National Grid, Empire National Bank, and New York Community Bank.
“I would like to extend a special thank you for the overwhelming support we have received to make this house for Veteran families a reality,” Shannon Boyle, Executive Director of New Ground said. “It is through the generosity of our business and community partners, that we were able to create this warm and inviting home for the homeless Veteran families we serve.”
This house has been set aside specifically to house homeless Veteran families in the Northport VA’s HUD – VASH program while they also take advantage of New Ground’s intensive Social Work and education services to advance their goals to secure a stable, brighter future. Founded in 1991, New Ground has been providing these services to homeless Long Islanders to help individuals and families break the cycle of homelessness and poverty. Upon completion of the New Ground program, families and Veterans have accomplished goals in areas of education, employment, financial literacy, parenting and more, and secured permanent, stable housing where they can live independently now and for generations to come. New Ground has also been successful in assisting families and Veterans with moving from homelessness to homeownership in an average of four to five years.
L to R: Grant Havasy of Blue & Gold Homes, Congressman Thomas Suozzi, Town of Huntington Supervisor Chad Lupinacci, New Ground Executive Director Shannon Boyle, and Town of Hempstead Councilman Dennis Dunne (center) cut the official ribbon for New Ground’s home for homeless Veteran families surrounded by various community and business partners, volunteers and donors.