Growing Up Together: Childhood Friends “Age Out” from BCCS to Citizens’ New Group Home in Bayshore
In the coming weeks, Citizens Options Unlimited (Citizens) will begin welcoming residents into their brand-new group home in Bayshore. The all-women’s residence will become home to six housemates, four of whom have been living together for years.
Eileen Williams, Erica Sang, Gabby Marcial, and Megan Schuster will be “aging out” together from Brookville Center for Children’s Services’ children’s residential home in Wantagh. Brookville Center and Citizens are affiliated agencies.
“Aging out” is a transitionary period for young adults with an intellectual or developmental disability (I/DD) that typically occurs between the ages of 18–21. The future Bayshore residents’ ages range from 18–27 years old. Kyra Braxton and Tamara Morales will also be joining the Bayshore house from adult residential services in Westbury and West Islip.
The six young women, along with their families and support teams, recently attended their fourth Meet & Greet, as they prepare for the move into their new home. These events help the future residents and families get to know each other and the home. At the most recent Meet & Greet, the women enjoyed dinner together and then piled onto the couch to watch a movie.
“Some of the girls have bonded over shared activities,” shared Eva Sang, mom of future resident Erica. For Erica and Megan, it’s a mutual love for amusement parks, especially Adventureland in East Farmingdale. The housemates also bonded over basketball.
Bayshore House Manager Taisha Mason and Assistant House Manager Dapheney Henry have begun to build a fun schedule for the upcoming summer, including trips to water parks, the beach and pool, and perhaps a weekend away at Lake George.
“I’m so excited for the ladies to move in and can’t wait to plan our first summer together,” Taisha said.
“Getting the group home all together can be a challenging and lengthy process, but once you see them smiling and happy, planning out what their future bedroom will look like… It’s exciting to see them have the opportunity to grow,” said Jennifer Bonarrigo, Citizens’ Assistant Director and Operational Support, who has been overseeing the Bayshore transition since January.
The families of these four women have formed a bond over the years, relying on each other for guidance, questions, and concerns regarding their daughter’s care and growth. The staff have grown to form a close relationship with the young women too, with several Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) choosing to make the transition with them to the new house.
One in particular is Dapheney Henry, who has worked at the Lido Beach residence for the last seven years. When the move was first being initiated, she expressed to her supervisor that she was interested in growing her career alongside the “aging out” residents. She was offered the Assistant House Manager position for the new Bayshore home and transitioned from BCCS to Citizens.
“The ladies have grown to care about each other and me over the years and I know they’re excited I’m coming along with them,” Dapheney said.
Getting everyone in the girl’s Lido Beach house mentally prepared for the move has been a success so far.
“Eileen mentions the move nearly every day,” she said. “They’re ready for this next step.”
“Aging out” is a transitionary period for young adults with an intellectual or developmental disability (I/DD) that typically occurs between the ages of 18–21. However, the future Bayshore residents’ range in age from 18–27 years old, since both Kyra Braxton and Tamara Morales are moving out of adult residential services in Westbury and West Islip, serviced through AHRC Nassau.
“It’s up to the parent when they want their child to transition,” Jennifer Bonarrigo, Citizens Options Unlimited Assistant Director and Operational Support, said. “Some are much younger when they make the move from children to adult residential services. Usually, it’s because they are in children’s residences upstate or out of state and the family wants them to be closer to home.”
24-year-old Erica Sang first moved to the BCCS Lido Beach group home in 2014.
“It was the best thing for her,” Eva Sang, Erica’s mother, said. “The first time I picked her up, I was nervous she’d get upset and want to stay home, but she looked forward to going back, and that’s when I knew everything was going to be okay.”
The six young women, along with their families and support teams, attended their third Meet & Greet earlier this month, as they eagerly wait to move into their new home. These events help the future residents and families get to know each other, begin to engage with each other and the house, and begin moving over furniture and clothes.
“There is no by the book process,” Jennifer said. Jennifer has been overseeing the Bayshore transition since the beginning of 2023. She organized the Meet & Greets so that the future residents and their families could meet with some of the Citizens residential team, which includes the home’s Assistant Director and House Manager, a Behavior Intervention Specialist (BIS), and a Registered Nurse (RN).
Getting into a group home can take years. For Bayshore, the process has taken a little over four years; due in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic pausing progress on the project in 2020 and 2021.
About 656,000 people across the country were on state waiting lists for home and community-based services financed through Medicaid waivers in 2021, finds a new KFF analysis.
“It’s a very long process, but once COVID died down we created a timeframe,” Dapheney said.
The cumbersome process begins with a screening process for potential residents. Once people are slotted for the home, the process of purchasing the home begins. Once a home is purchased, construction starts. Next, Citizens staff attend town meetings to let the community know that an IRA is coming to town.
The final steps, before residents can officially move in, include a state audit from the OPWDD on May 22nd and securing a few more DSPs to work at the Bayshore home.
Many of the BCCS families are both relieved and grateful to hear that some of the staff are making the transition over with their daughters.
“I wanted to be a part of their transition to make it go smoothly for the families and the girls,” Dapheney said.
Calendar-focused, Erica prefers to stay busy. She currently attends AHRC Nassau’s Wheatley Farms day program, where she likes to garden, and plays for a police basketball league in Hicksville.
Eva looks forward to Erica, and the rest of the roommates, having more activities on their schedule once they move into their new home.
“Some of the girls bond over shared activities,” Eva said. For Erica and Megan, it’s a mutual love for amusement parks, especially Adventure Land in East Farmingdale.
House Manager Taisha Mason and Assistant House Manager Dapheney Henry have begun to build a fun schedule for the upcoming summer, which will include many trips to amusement parks (especially water parks), the beach, and perhaps a weekend away at Lake George.
“I’m so excited for the ladies to move in and can’t wait to plan our first summer together,” Taisha said.
Taisha has been ordering furniture for shared spaces like the kitchen, dining room, and living room. She is currently in the process of decorating the house to make it feel like a home, which includes painting canvases and hanging photos of the new roommates.
“Getting the group home all together can be a challenging and lengthy process, but once you see them smiling and happy, planning out what their future bedroom will look like… It’s exciting to see them have the opportunity to grow. They all can’t wait for this next step,” Jennifer said.