01/12/2021
Grant’s Path
Every year hundreds of young adults graduate from residential schools in New York. It’s a monumental transition for them as they move from a campus setting where they’ve lived for many years to a home in the community. Greystone is fortunate to be working with 6 people who have or will soon graduate from two local schools. It has been a long process but the end is in sight and we are all very excited.
It all started in 2017 with a proposal we sent to the local state office. Our idea was simple and straight forward: a smaller home with 6 single bedrooms that would be as centrally located as possible. This was followed by months of screening dozens of students while at the same time, they “screened” us. Once we selected who we would support, it was left to the people and their families to select the agency that was right for them.
Today, we are happy to be working with 6 people, 3 men and 3 women, in planning their new home and life after school. Over the summer, we purchased a beautiful ranch in Beekman, NY that provides ample space for 6 bedrooms along with enough common areas for people to spread out and be comfortable. The home is in a residential community on over 3 acres and provides easy access to shopping, day programs and local parks. Some renovations are needed to create additional bedrooms, a third bathroom and install needed safety features but much of the home is perfect and won’t need any work at all. The work plans are being finalized and design is nearly complete. We are only waiting for NYS OPWDD to give us final approval which we expect to receive in the very near future. We hope to open it by this spring.
This new home or IRA will be our third in 2 years and our 17th overall. Most important, it will provide six young adults with the supports they need in a community setting. While they begin this new and exciting chapter in their lives, Greystone continues to grow and meet needs of people as we have for over 40 years.