By Kayla Donnenfeld

L.I.G.H.T. – Long Island Giving Help Together for Charity – is my column where I shine a light on a different Long Island-based charity each month. For this column, I focus on Hope For Youth.

For more than 50 years, Hope For Youth has provided services for children, youth and families, spanning a continuum of care from out-patient, clinical and preventive services, to foster care, diagnostic and emergency residential services.

The organization works with children as young as birth through 21 across the Long Island region.

With locations in Amityville, Bellmore, Farmingdale, Bay Shore and Seaford, Hope For Youth continues to grow to meet the needs of Long Island communities.

With six residential facilities, 35 foster homes and 165 staff members, Hope For Youth has grown into one of Long Island’s preeminent providers of services for children and families.

Hope For Youth’s main program is providing runaway and homeless youth services.

Hope For Youth provides safety screenings, needs assessments and aftercare services for kids under the age of 18, including on the street and in community settings, Hope For Youth also provides safe shelter, counseling, transportation, food, clothing, outreach, educational assistance, as well as social and emotional development programming.

Hope For Youth also provides community based programming to promote social, emotional,
mental and physical health and well-being for kids in need. This includes Hope For Youth’s
“HEART” program, which provides home-based child welfare services for children and family.

Hope For Youth updates its website with success stories, including inspiring stories about
adoption, high school graduations, college acceptances, and more.

If you’d like to help Hope For Youth, you can do so by volunteering your time, or by donating funds, school supplies, toys, gift cards, electronics or other goods that will be provided to at-risk youth.

For more information, please visit Hope For Youth’s website at https://www.hfyny.org/.