Hochul awards $11.9 million to Long Island nonprofits for supportive housing

Two Long Island nonprofits will receive $11.9 million to develop housing and provide supportive services for people who have experienced homelessness, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday.

WellLife Network will use $7.9 million in funding to create 33 units in Medford in a three-story apartment building. The plan is part of a larger project, Medford Gardens, a fully electric and accessible three-story apartment building, according to the governor’s office. WellLife, based in New Hyde Park, will also provide on-site services for people with disabilities.

"For individuals contending with a disability, having a safe place to call home is a critical step toward helping them achieve lasting stability in their lives,” Sherry Tucker, CEO of the WellLife Network, said in a statement. “Medford Gardens will offer these individuals housing, in addition to the supportive services they can rely on to break cycles of homelessness.”

The grants are part of the governor's effort to address the need for more affordable housing across the state. On Long Island, a shortage of apartments has driven up rents and more than half of renters in Nassau and Suffolk counties spend more than 30% of their income on rent. 

Mercy Haven, an Islip Terrace-based nonprofit, will get $4 million to develop eight units in Hempstead by renovating two buildings on separate sites. The units will provide housing for 12 people.

“Funding for the Hempstead Homeless Housing Project comes as a wonderful development in Mercy Haven's efforts to increase housing in the village of Hempstead where prohibitive costs make housing stability unreachable for many,” Patricia Griffith, executive director of Mercy Haven, said in a statement.

Mercy Haven will provide services to the tenants to help integrate them with the community, access public support and find employment. That work will be supported with $360,000 a year through the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative, said Donna Donaghy, director of business management at Mercy Haven, who is overseeing the project.

Donaghy said the state funding will help cover almost all of the cost of acquiring and remodeling the multifamily homes in Hempstead. She said the project expands Mercy Haven’s reach beyond the Towns of Islip and Brookhaven, where most of its residences are located.

“This is an opportunity for us to really branch out to Nassau County and start providing services to those in need in that area,” she said.

The state funding Hochul announced Friday totaled $38.6 million across six nonprofits on Long Island, in New York City and in Binghamton. It will support the creation of 410 housing units.

The money was awarded through a competitive grant process and was drawn from the state budget for fiscal 2024, which began April 1, and the previous year’s budget.

“By funding these projects, we are able to provide the services and support necessary to help New Yorkers break the cycle of homelessness and provide them with a safe and stable place to call home,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement.

By Jonathan LaMantia

jonathan.lamantia@newsday.com@jonlamantia

Jonathan LaMantia covers residential real estate and other business news on Long Island. He previously covered the business of health care for Crain's New York Business.