DECEMBER 2020 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 25
PRESS BUSINESS
HOPE FOR YOUTH
HELPING THE MOST VULNERABLE
BY MAIA VINES
Founded more than 50 years ago, Hope
For Youth provides support and residential
services to youth and families
across Long Island. The nonprofit
kicks off the holiday season with its
fourth annual Hope for the Holidays
drive.
HFY staff members began coordinating
their drive in November to
distribute gifts to youth, from toddlers
to 19-year-olds, in time for the
holidays. Holiday Wish List 2020, a
public Amazon wish list, gives donors
and contributors options for items to
donate. This year’s wish list features
board games, action figures, hair accessories,
and clothing, among other
gifts.
“Hopefully we get all of our deliveries
in one week so they can be rapidly distributed
to the kids for the holidays,”
Tenaya Parchment, development
associate and head of the holiday
drive, said.
Donors include local businesses,
schools, community organizations,
and churches. St. Frances de Chantal
Parish Social Ministry in Wantagh
is a major yearly contributor
to the drive. Parishioners purchase
gifts for the children, many of
whom reside in group homes, and
the ministry gives them to HFY for
distribution.
“It’s a beautiful experience, seeing
the level of people caring,” said
Ele-Ruth Melendez, director of the
Parish Social Ministry. “There’s a lot of
love and I see it, so that’s the best part.”
With more than 700,000 unaccompanied
minors experiencing homelessness
nationwide each year, HFY
offers temporary homes to children
in need of traditional, therapeutic, or
emergency foster care settings. Most
youth are referred by both Nassau
and Suffolk Departments of Social
Services. Training and certification
programs are also provided to foster
care families through HFY.
The coronavirus outbreak caused
substantial spikes in national unemployment,
with homelessness
also skyrocketing, but HFY’s 24/7
Runaway and Homeless Youth Shelter
has remained open. The shelter
program, located in Babylon, offers
workshops and tutoring to teenagers
and young adults, 14 to 20 years
old. Facing a $100,000 cut to their
2021 budget, HFY is organizing a
Save Our Shelter fundraiser to service
displaced and homeless youth
in Suffolk County.
“Keeping the doors open in our
shelter is a priority,” Parchment
said. “It’s the only teen shelter of its
kind in Suffolk County.”
HFY is not seeking volunteers for
the holiday drive this year, but more
information on services or contributions
can be found on its website,
hfyny.org
Hope For Youth volunteers prepare gifts
for homeless kids.
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
/hfyny.org
