Community Housing Innovations

$400,000 In Grant Funding for First Time Homebuyers on Long Island

News 12 Long Island covered the story.

Community Housing Innovations, Inc. is now taking applications for $400,000 in down payment assistance for first time homebuyers on Long Island from the New York State Housing Trust Fund. Each individual purchaser may get up to $30,000, depending upon need. The funding may be used to purchase homes in either Suffolk or Nassau Counties. Those applying must meet certain maximum income guidelines, adjusted by family size. For example, a family of four may earn no more than about $73,000 per year. At a time of recession, the first seminar on Long Island surprisingly attracted a standing-room only turnout, indicating that there is huge pent-up demand from buyers.

Watch the news story on News 12 Long Island.
For details and an application, Click Here.

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Minerva Place Condominiums Applications Available

The City of White Plains is now considering all applications for a brand new condominium at Minerva Place in the city. This means that all are welcome to apply to own the most energy-efficient new condominium residence in the city and the first of its type to meet New York State Energy $mart Multifamily Performance Program guidelines. With prices in the mid-200,000’s, they affordably priced to go fast….For more information and an application, Click Here.

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The current economic climate is putting increased stress on Long Island’s already crowded shelters and emergency housing facilities. With homes in foreclosure and families in crisis, 14 Stony Brook University nursing students are helping provide services to homeless families in one Long Island shelter operated by the nonprofit organization Community Housing Innovations. The junior nursing students are part of Stony Brook University’s Community and Family Nursing course, in which 56 students help at local shelters.

The students meet with family members at the shelter. For many families, it is their first experience with being homeless and the students start by assessing the emotional, psychological and physical conditions of the family members. As a second step, the students conduct a medical genogram, a pictorial display of a person's family relationships and medical history. Next, they conduct a windshield survey by walking through the neighborhood and researching what resources the families can find in walking distance, as they do not have cars. Using all of this information, the students help the shelter to develop a family action plan. Each student group has specialized projects as well. One student group developed a child discipline easy-to-read poster for the shelter; and another group is currently working on an employment skills workshop, teaching resume writing and linking clients to resources for vocational training and job searches.

Dr. Brenda Janotha, a professor at Stony Brook University, uses the CHI shelter as a clinical site for her students and is studying the impact of Service-Learning on her students. Service-Learning is the process of submerging the student in a community setting, guiding them to provide client specific-care with the expectation that both the student and the client will gain from the experience.

“My student feedback in their informal journals has reflected that they are gaining from the clients, the setting, the experience and their project,” stated Dr. Janotha. “Nurse empathy improves patient outcomes. These students see how difficult it is for these families. And it’s the little details that impact them. For example, the clients have trouble finding fresh vegetables at an affordable price. This is specific. It’s real to them.” Dr. Janotha plans on using the Caring Behaviors Inventory assessment tool, developed by Dr. Zane Wolf, to measure the level of student empathy before and after the shelter experience.

Community Housing Innovations is also noticing a positive change in the families at the shelter. Because they do not view the students as a threat or as another authority figure, the residents of the shelter find their interaction with the students to be a positive experience, and the interaction provides them with greater autonomy and control.

“Homelessness is incredibly stressful for families,” stated Rosemary Dehlow, Director of Long Island Programs for Community Housing Innovations. “During tough economic times, it’s even worse. These students are helping these families to develop practical steps they can take to help themselves.”

The shelter is operated by Community Housing Innovations and is funded through the Suffolk County Department of Social Services.

As a seasoned Real Estate Broker with CHI Realty, Inc, I know that the real estate market grinds to a halt from Thanksgiving to the Spring of the next year, then builds back up again. This was especially true for in the fall of 2008 and the winter of 2009, due to the recession. So I decided to take a temporary position as a House Monitor with the Long Island branch of Community Housing Innovations. As a Realtor, I had found and brokered property leases for the CHI Supervised Family Residence program for homeless families, but I did not know how meritorious this CHI program was and how it enhances the lives of its transient residents.

The circumstances that brought these families into the SFR are as diverse as are their different family make up, occupations, cultural or racial origin. Unemployment, layoffs, victims of physical abuse, prior drug abuse, foreclosure, eviction--all of these are reasons why families can end up homeless. Housing the homeless had previously been addressed by placing as many as 50 families together in so called, “welfare hotels”. This type of temporary housing arrangement has shown to be more susceptible to violence and criminal acts. Community Housing Innovations, under contract to the Nassau and Suffolk County Departments of Social Services, provides a safe and secure alternative to this arrangement. The SFR utilizes spacious contemporary residential properties that are in excellent condition to house the families. High ranches, center hall colonials, and Victorian style properties can have as many as ten bedrooms. Each bedroom provides comfort and privacy for a small family. There is a full bathroom and a common area on each floor and a shared kitchen with a designated mini refrigerator and food storage space for each separate family. The facility where I was House Monitor housed five families with family sizes ranging from two to four members.

Rosemary Dehlow is the Director of CHI Long Island. She is a woman of integrity and perception. She has managed to put in place the best professionals in their particular vocations that Long Island has to offer. The Supervised Family Residences are managed by Case Managers. The case managers provide counseling, referral to health care, jobs and much more for the occupants. They also ensure that CHI directives and house rules are followed. The House Monitors assist the Case Managers in keeping order, providing security and ensuring safety. Steve Capozzoli is the Director of Safety and Security for CHI LI. The former New York City Police detective lieutenant and his assistant, Kim Hill, have methodically selected, trained and supervise a well disciplined, dependable group of House Monitors. Following a stringent checklist, the House Monitor is held responsible for the maintenance of order, insuring that curfews are observed, and see that children are supervised and do their homework. This is not an easy task but it is essential for all concerned.

CHI has a great team in place that promotes harmony among strangers living together, promotes high moral values and gives families the incentive to succeed in the transition from homelessness to sustained independent living. I am a witness that this is a program that works.