Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Rescuing Families Inc. began preparing for renovations on a disabled family’s home in Valley Stream on May 8. The Franklin Square-based charity enlisted the help of volunteers from Keller Williams Legendary, a real estate agency located on Hempstead Turnpike in Franklin Square.
The team began disassembling cabinets and other fixtures, clearing out furniture, and lining the floors to make way for new, disability-friendly and wheelchair-accessible home equipment.
The Reyes family first contacted the charity three years ago, writing a letter to co-founders Gina and Vincent Centauro asking for help improving the home for owner Douglas Reyes, who has been paralyzed from the neck down since a surfing accident in the late 1990s. He has used a wheelchair ever since.
Justin Capera, Reyes's newphew, said this has been a long time coming, and the family is grateful for the work Rescuing Families is doing for his uncle.
Renovations are expected to take six months to complete.
