Serving those who served us
Scanlon's Traveling Salon, a small business serving vulnerable communities: seniors, homeless shelters, veteran/ group/sober homes on Long Island, NY is owned by Eileen Scanlon. As she realized the housing crises around our country and the fast growing rate of displaced/homeless veterans, she decided to embark on an effort to create an "intentional community" for veterans, aka a Family Style Veteran Home Share. "In NY. rents and home prices are skyrocketing, which is forcing many to leave the state. Even for those who stay here, owning a home is becoming quite unattainable, which in turn has given birth to "intentional home shares" with the idea in mind to "share" the following: expenses, the upkeep of their home and like minded "brother/sisterhood" camaraderie with the ability to embrace diversity," said Eileen.
Eileen purchased "Ruby's Whisper" an old 1700's Tavern turned home, which she is now converting to a house share for four to five low income veterans. The home will offer comfort, solace, space and a feeling of a "yesteryear". "The living room is quite large with little "nooks", which can offer a lovely bistro cafe area, extra bedroom for an overnight guest and/or library. There are five lovely sized bedrooms with amazing natural light, and the living room and kitchen are cozy. This home will be furnished with the help of some amazing donors (clients, dear one's, neighbors and Habitat for Humanity). The backyard is nothing short of hypnotic; offering veterans enough space to create a garden or grow their own food. There is also a sitting area, which will be able to be used as a smoking area. The veterans that stay with us can also utilize two large sheds for storage and there are two separate driveways in which will accommodate four vehicles. A family style home share like this for vets might mean the difference between paying rent and being able to pay their monthly food bill; a home share allows them to keep their monthly expenses much lower compared to if they were renting a place on their own."
She is hoping to have Heyes' Haven for Heroes solar powered and re-sided, and officially incorporated as a 501C3 by the summer of 2023. "I'm so grateful to have this opportunity at this stage in my life to pay forward in a way that I feel would make my father and grandfather, both veterans, rather proud of this new project."