YOUTH DIRECTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES COMMUNITY PROGRAM | YOUTH DIRECTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES

Access to all Emergency Housing for Homeless Persons Requires a Referral by a DSS office location/hotline operator. For Nassau County, please call (516)227-8519 or the evening/emergency number at (516)573-8626. For Suffolk County, please call (631)854-9517 or the evening/emergency number at (631)854-9100. If you are ineligible for DSS services, please call Long Island Coalition for the Homeless at (631)464-4314. Provides programs aimed at youth development, social interaction, and community impact. Some of these programs include: Community Impact Team (student-driven community service club with projects ranging from food drives, supply drives for local shelters, etc.), Drop-In (recreational program designed to give youth a safe space to hang out with their friends, watch movies, play video games, listen to music, make art, etc.), Middle and High School Basketball (at Northport Middle School), Grandfriends (pairs Northport High School students with seniors living at Atria), and Arts and Crafts. Also receives in-house support services through the Huntington Youth Bureau which includes Drug and Alcohol Project (substance abuse counseling, referrals and education, crisis intervention), Sanctuary (emergency short-term housing for homeless youth and their families), Project Excel (GED preparation, vocational counseling, job placement), Youth Court, and a crisis hotline. Publishes an agency brochure and calendar of events.