Karen's Hopes breaks ground

A small crowd gathered on Kenora Place in Seaford on May 20 for a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off the reconstruction of a house belonging to a growing Seaford non-profit organization known as Karen’s Hope.

The project will establish a home where adults with special needs can live independently. The renovation was announced on May 20 by the organization’s founder, Karen Siler, who spoke of the work that would begin the following Monday, thanks to a $230,000 grant the organization received from Nassau County. The house belongs to her neighbor and long-time friend Laura Cook.

With Cook as caregiver, and Siler’s autistic son Ryan, 24, as one of the residents, one of the next steps for Karen’s Hope is to decide on the other two adults who will live in the house with them.

“The individual gets to manage their own life with the support of their family,” Siler, a mother of five, said of the mission of Karen’s Hope. She went on to describe the process of interviewing and meeting with potential candidates for the house. “We welcome everyone who feels they qualify to come meet with us,” she said.

The main emphasis of Karen’s Hope, Siler explained, is to break away from the model followed by most group homes. After seeing the way her brother, Michael, who had Down syndrome, was neglected in a group home, she wanted to create a home that would be a place where people with special needs could make their own decisions and live their lives the way they saw fit. After Michael died of leukemia at 47, she became more determined to make the home a reality.

Cook explained how the house had stayed the same since her family bought it in the 1950s, and said she was excited about the renovations. She recalled meeting Siler at a block party on a hot day in 1995. “She was wearing this heavy Mickey Mouse costume,” Cook said — her first indication of Siler’s drive to make others happy. “After that, I watched the family grow up, and was prepared to have Michael and Ryan live with me when Karen spoke about her plans.”

Cook, who has been working with people with special needs for 20 years, said she looks forward to what Karen’s Hope has in store for the future. The cause has been attracting interest beyond the Seaford community since 2014 when the grant was announced that paved the way for this project.

Michael Simmons, a Boy Scout from Troop 351 and a sophomore at Calhoun High School, worked on the house renovations as part of his Eagle project. Simmons spoke about his plans to build an 8-foot-by-8-foot shed in the backyard, and to donate a few household appliances. “I read the article about Karen’s Hope in the local paper,” Simmons said, referring to a story he saw in the Herald, “and I thought it would be a great idea for my Eagle Scout project.”

Siler told the gathering that that although her brother Michael was not there to see the progress on the house, “He’s making it happen for us.” Then she, her husband, Allen, and her five children each put a hand on a shovel to ceremonially begin the reconstruction of the house and the future for Karen’s Hope.

The group will continue to accept donations and hold fundraisers, with a golf outing scheduled for June 21 at Bethpage State Park. To learn more about the organization, visit www.karenshope.org.