Coming home again

Bethany House, the Baldwin-based shelter for homeless women and children, is reopening its DeMott Avenue residence, this time to accommodate seniors, officials said.

The house, purchased in 2010, was closed as a shelter in 2013 after cutbacks in the Nassau County budget, said Bethany House’s executive director, Sister Aimee Koonmen. Administrators turned the second floor of the residence into a rental property, but with the last renters’ lease up, and a brighter financial picture, the house is being converted back into a shelter.

The 17-year-old house, like the other Bethany House properties, is considered a long-term transitional shelter, Koonmen said, meaning that women can stay there as long as necessary until they find something more permanent.

The plan for residents, Koonmen said, is “to work with them to be sure they are totally independent,” before they head out to their own homes. In some cases, she said, the residents can get federal Section 8 rental vouchers that can be used in varying amounts for a year. This gives the women time to save some money.

The house, a high ranch, has six bedrooms. One has been turned into a staff room and another will be a guest room, in case a resident has family visiting. The remaining four bedrooms will be client rooms.

When it was purchased, Koonmen recalled, “The house had beautiful oak floors, but not in the bedrooms.” So Bethany House added wood floors to the bedrooms and installed an air conditioning system.

“We provide most of the food,” Koonmen said, “but residents take turns cooking.” One rule, however, is that at least one other person besides the cook is in the house when the oven is in use.

The idea behind Bethany House, Koonmen said, is to give clients a home, however temporary. “When they come from Social Services, it’s the last stop,” she said. “Then you come, and you’re shown a nice room, and it’s like the world” has opened to them.

She said that any luggage the women have when they enter the home is tossed out, and their clothes and possessions are examined for bedbugs. “We even have a ‘hot box’ for computers and shoes,” that cleans items, she added.