Giving homes to the homeless

As Jane Smith* originally from Riverhead, was preparing to move with her three adult children to North Carolina due to affordability issues before Christmas last year, a heart attack suddenly sent Smith into the hospital, and her three children to live in a motel, then a car.

With their housing and health situations uncertain, a local organization that supports Long Island’s homeless population stepped in to help the Smith family transition to a new life in the south.

Maureen Graziano and Pamela Burner, co-founders of HIS Coalition for the Homeless, a Sayville-based organization whose mission is “to be a voice for the homeless,” heard the Riverhead family’s story and quickly arranged transportation to their new home.

“They helped me during a time when I really needed support,” the mother said. “They treated me with kindness to make sure I had resources to move forward.”

The Riverhead family already secured an apartment in North Carolina, but while the mother recovered from her heart attack, more issues arose. Graziano, who’s also a nurse, noticed the mother had a medical issue that resulted in another hospital visit, and the family of four’s car had a noticeable rattle.

“We said, ‘You can’t drive to North Carolina with a rattle in your car, so it’s got to go to the mechanic,’” Burner said.

The falling temperatures raised the urgency as the Riverhead family had nowhere to go. And despite the mother working for the Suffolk County government for 35 years, she said she couldn’t qualify for certain benefits because she earned more than the qualifying amount, but not enough to cover her family’s housing costs. With two of her adult children having special needs, the mother said she couldn’t separate from them as she also served a caretaking role.

“I did reach out for help from DSS [Department of Social Services], and they just wanted to shove us in a shelter, and I didn’t want to go in the shelter because they were going to split me and my family up,” the mother said. “They just didn’t help at all… I tried several times, and I just got fed up even asking them anymore.”

Graziano and Burner also tried their hardest to find support—but came up empty-handed.

“I called a church and asked for money. I called the legislator and asked for money. She’s worked for Suffolk County. She’s not a derelict. Can you help?” Burner recalled. “And the answer [was] no.”

Founded in 2022, Graziano and Burner created HIS Coalition for the Homeless to support families in these situations—to fill the gap they say exists in support for homeless people.

“I was waiting for the world to respond to the homeless,” Burner said. “It seemed the situation was just getting worse.”

According to the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless, rates of homelessness in Nassau and Suffolk counties increased 13 percent from 2024 to 2025, totalling around 4,500 unhoused individuals. In 2024, according to the New York State Comptroller’s Office, the region had the largest increase in homelessness statewide outside New York City.

Inspired by her Christian religious teachings of loving and supporting thy neighbor, Burner and Graziano organized with the leadership at Graziano’s parish, New Life Church in Sayville, to support a family living in a nearby forest one winter. From there, the group has provided support for homeless people through nighttime shelters at a Port Jefferson church, as well as dinners and other as-needed assistance for those experiencing housing insecurity, such as the Riverhead family.

From November through April, the HIS Coalition partners with the support organization, Maureen’s Haven Homeless Outreach, to provide an occasional nighttime shelter at Axis Church in Port Jefferson, where volunteers provide warm home-cooked meals and fresh breakfasts while supervising the whole night.

Maureen’s Haven screens interested individuals in need of shelter and transports those eligible to different shelters, like the one HIS Coalition manages, throughout the week, meaning participants are constantly bouncing from shelter to shelter across Suffolk County.

“We actually had a bed, and the place was warm. Everything was perfect,” Sheryl DeSouza, a homeless woman who lived in Maureen’s Haven-operated shelters for two weeks this winter, said about the HIS Coalition shelter. “I felt comfortable and safe because of how it was set up.”

DeSouza, who spends many nights living on buses and trains across the region, said she became apprehensive of the county-run homeless shelters, where she encountered drug users or individuals with mental health issues. While understanding their plight, DeSouza said that, through Maureen’s Haven and HIS Coalition, volunteers oversaw everyone and made sure nothing got out of hand.

DeSouza said volunteers provided clothing, shoes, food-to-go, and sanitary products—anything they could to support her and others.

“They really provide everything that somebody would want,” DeSouza said. “And we are thankful, and we are appreciative, and we hope more churches will get involved.”

Graziano and Burner said they don’t hear from most churches they reach out to, and that interest in supporting the homeless has been an uphill battle.

With no large-scale solution in sight, Graziano and Burner dream of solving the homelessness crisis themselves by building a village of “tiny homes” where homeless individuals live and work in whatever trade they’re skilled in, whether it’s a landscaper moving the lawns or a hairdresser styling other residents.

The pair is inspired by “Community First! Village” in Austin, Texas, a 51-acre community that serves over 400 formerly homeless residents and provides support as a transitional step toward housing. Graziano and Burner visited the site and hope to bring their community-driven approach to Long Island.

“They all support one another; they have the opportunity to actually work on the premises,” Graziano said.

The pair said a plot of land in Yaphank looked ideal, but due to zoning and code measures, they might have to move the dream village somewhere upstate.

Other initiatives HIS Coalitions runs include an annual Easter Dinner for anyone in need at New Life Community Church. Graziano and Burner said, though, that they’re in need of more volunteers and monetary support, specifically from those with tech knowledge. The group meets every third Thursday of the month at New Life Community Church, 380 Lakeland Avenue, Sayville.

Back in Riverhead, the family of four waiting for their move to North Carolina received an early Christmas present.

A friend of Burner’s connected HIS Coalition with Tom Maher, who raised $6,000 for the Riverhead family, using $4,200 to replace tires and address mechanical needs, and over $1,000 left over for the family.

“We took them to Walmart and bought them everything they needed for their new home,” Burner said. “And that was with no red tape, no meetings, no discussions. It was just people working [with] their hearts.”

Graziano and Burner still keep in touch with the now-former Riverhead family and said they’re working on a matching “grant for their future” while they start working.

“They’re not going to fall flat on their face,” Burner said.

Looking back now with a roof over their heads, the mother of three expressed gratitude to the HIS Coalition.

“Help is out there in organizations like this,” the former Riverhead mother said. “God was doing some miracle. They were like an angel.”

*This publication is using pseudonyms for this person due to fear of retribution from a previous employer.