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11.02.2022
On October 7th, Mercy Haven joined project and community partners to celebrate the grand opening of a new supportive housing residence, Mercy Gardens. Located in Central Islip, Long Island, Mercy Gardens is creating 19 new supportive apartments across two buildings for 28 individuals and families experiencing homelessness. On-site services are provided by Mercy Haven through New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) and New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA)’s New York State Supportive Housing Program (NYSSHP).
Mercy Haven has a Community Center nearby with staff offices to bring programming close to residents.
Mercy Haven Executive Director Sister Pat Griffith kicked off the program, thanking funding resources that made the project possible, “We want to express our gratitude for the strong partnerships with the Homeless Housing and Assistance Program, the Office of Mental Health, and the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York. Without these connections, 28 formerly homeless adults and children would still be looking for a place to live.”
Lisa, A new resident of Mercy Gardens spoke at length about homelessness and how it can happen to anyone “a lot of people almost think homelessness is a disease and they’ll catch it if they touch us, when the truth is it can happen to anyone at any point.” About her new apartment she said, “Every day I wake up and for half a minute, I don’t know where I am. I can't believe I have my own apartment.”
Brenda McAteer, Vice President, OTDA’s Homeless Housing and Assistance Corporation, spoke about being the project manager on the development which took 9 years to come to fruition, “It's been a long road, but a great reward.”
Financing for the project was provided by OTDA’s Homeless Housing Assistance Program (HHAP), OMH and MRT as well as Federal Home Loan Bank.
The architect was Fusion Architecture and the general contractor was Michael Borruto General Contractor, Inc.