The Village of Lynbrook honored longtime cancer advocate Geri Barish with a proclamation in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, celebrating her decades of service to cancer patients and families through Hewlett House — a free community resource center that has supported more than 42,000 people.
During the October village board meeting, Mayor Alan Beach presented the proclamation to Barish, praising her work and announcing a new collaboration to bring her mission closer to Lynbrook residents.
“We’d like to present the proclamation to her,” Beach said. “And what we’re going to do also is set up a satellite office with Sister Barbara… so that way the Lynbrook people will be able to have a right — write right to you directly.”
Reading the proclamation aloud, Beach emphasized the continued importance of awareness and early detection. “Breast cancer claims the lives of almost 40,000 U.S. women a year,” the statement read, noting that “detection of breast cancer at an early stage greatly improves the chances of success in treatment and survival.” Beach officially proclaimed October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the Village of Lynbrook.
Barish, who took over Hewlett House in 1995 and opened it to the public in 2000, reflected on 25 years of service at the center.
“In 1995, we were able to take over the Hewlett House,” she said. “It took us five years to get up and running. And in the year 2000, we opened to the public. This past year, 2025, was our 25th anniversary of Hewlett House, and we have serviced over 42,000 people all at no charge.”
She underscored the urgency of continued vigilance in screening and education. “We have to be screened. We have to be vigilant. You have to know your history,” Barish said. “This year, 1,500 men alone in Long Island will be diagnosed with breast cancer. We have to start looking a little broader.”
Barish, a five-time cancer survivor, turned personal loss into advocacy after losing her mother to breast cancer in 1974 and her son Michael to Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1986. Hewlett House, located on East Rockaway Road in Hewlett, now serves people facing all forms of cancer, offering wigs, counseling, educational resources and a sense of home.
“Lynbrook is like my second home,” Barish told the board. “I’ve adopted it. So, thank you all for everything that you do for us. And we’ll keep working as hard as we can.”
Beach thanked Barish for her compassion and tireless dedication, calling her work a “lifeline” for the community.
