‘Hope’ house moves along in Seaford

Laura Cook’s home, at 3553 Kenora Place in Seaford, will be renovated and expanded to provide housing for up to three people with disabilities.

Andrew Hackmack/Herald

Karen’s Hope founder Karen Siler with her husband, Allen, and son, Ryan, who would live in the house.

Courtesy Karen Siler

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The start of construction on a home that will house up to three people with disabilities is just weeks away, according to Karen Siler, who came up with the idea, which earned her a grant from Nassau County.

The home will be on Kenora Place in Seaford. The existing Cape Cod-style house, two doors down from Siler, will be renovated and expanded. Her son, Ryan, 24, who has autism, will be one of four people to live in the home.

The owner of the home, Laura Cook, will live downstairs and will serve as the house mother. She will support Ryan and two other people, yet to be chosen, who will live upstairs.

“I think this is an amazing idea,” Cook told the Herald last year, when the project was first being discussed. “I think it will benefit many families for years to come.”

The home has been in Cook’s family since the 1950s. It initially belonged to her grandparents, then her aunt and uncle. Because of the financial support that the state will provide, the arrangement will allow her to stay while providing a service for people in the community. Cook will live with the Silers until the renovations are complete. “She gets to keep her family’s home,” Siler said, “and do something wonderful with it.”

Siler said that the grant money, provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered by Nassau County, would soon be turned over to her nonprofit organization, Karen’s Hope. Contractors have been chosen, and once the money is in the bank, work will begin.

A full dormer will be added to the house, creating a second floor with three bedrooms, a common area and a bathroom. The downstairs will be remodeled as well. Siler said the hope is that construction will begin before the end of the year, and the house will be completed next spring.

The goal, she said, is to give people with disabilities a chance to live independently, yet still have necessary support in their lives. In addition to Cook, each resident will have his or her own staff, with those needs determined by each family.