Resolution Calls on County to End Contract with Homeless Shelter

A resolution being introduced by Suffolk Legis. John M. Kennedy Jr. says that a homeless shelter in Hauppauge is exceeding the amount of families it is allowed to house and is asking that the contract between the county and the shelter’s operator be terminated.

Resolution 1817 will be presented at the County Legislature’s Human Services Committee meeting on Friday and states that the shelter currently houses 96 families, “a capacity far in excess of” the maximum established by the county code. The resolution asks that the contract between Suffolk County and Community Housing Initiatives, the shelter’s operator to be terminated. 

Kennedy told Patch the allowable number of families is 12.

Kennedy sent a letter discussing the resolution to Hauppague school officials last week. A copy of the letter and the resolution can be found  on the district website under announcements.

The shelter in question, which houses homeless families within the borders of the Hauppauge school district, opened this past summer and gained the attention of Hauppauge parents when school district officials placed all of the shelter’s elementary-age students into Forest Brook Elementary.

Currently, 24 children from homeless shelters are educated in the Hauppauge School District, with 10 students placed at Forest Brook while the rest are educated at other schools in the district, according to district superintendent Patricia Sullivan-Kriss.

The education of homeless children is primarily governed by a federal law, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987. Among its statutes are a number of confidentiality requirements, such as the exact address of a homeless shelter and information about the children and families residing there. 

Kennedy told Patch in Sept. that "We are the at-the-ground-level implementer" of policy and procedure, but very little of this at all has been driven by legislative activity here at the local level. It is pretty much 100 percent occupied by federal and state actions." 

The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held on Friday at 10 a.m. at 725 Veteran’s Hwy. in the North County Complex in Smithtown. Kennedy said in his letter that he encourages all residents to attend.

Related Stories:

• Parents Blast Hauppauge School Supe Over Placement of Homeless Students
• Kennedy: Number of Homeless Students Likely to Remain the Same
• More Questions Than Answers Available at Homeless Student Forum