Welcome to The Ministries.
An Interfaith Community Ministry With 40 Years of Service to the Long Island Community.
"People Helping People"
The
Ministries, Inc. is a private, not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization
established in 1967. Our ministry is dedicated to serving the needs of
families, individuals, and children in Suffolk County regardless of
religion, race, color, age, creed, or national origin. Our mission
incorporates an understanding of the inherent value and potential of
each human being. We demonstrate through our example people of diverse
viewpoints can work together to build a future of promise and hope for
everyone.
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We're grateful to all the generous people
whose donations keep The Ministries going.
Here are some special donations we've received recently!
 Our Executive Director, Ann Moran-Smith (second from left, bottom row), receiving a United Way of Long Island 2012 grant. |
 Our Executive Director, Ann Moran-Smith and Ed Cheatham of THE CHARLOTTE CHEATHAM HUNGER RELIEF FUND. The Fund donated $500 on January 18, 2012, to The Ministries Emergency Food Pantry. |
Volley(ball) for Mission - Saturday, March 31- 5:00 p.m.
Members of the Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship in Stony Brook played volleyball to raise money for The Ministries. Alas, UUFSB's "Fighting Unicorns" lost the match to the Setauket Presbyterian Stingrays but both The Ministries and the Port Jeff Welcome INN were winners. More than $1600 was raised. 60% went to Welcome INN, the charity chosen by The Setauket Stingrays. The remaining $600+ dollars was donated to The Ministries.
A message from Ann Moran-Smith, Executive Director
Smith Haven Ministries, first called The Nesconset Experimental Ministries when created in 1967, has proved that the experiment was indeed a success!
As our early name implied, our founders fashioned a model where churches, temples, and community residents would work together to build a future of hope and promise for children, adults, and families in need. Our mission then, as now, was to fill the void where human services was concerned and to help families right here in Suffolk County. Through the years... read more
another Generous Grant to Support the Ministries in 2011
At a reception in March, Newsday
Charities, a fund of the McCormick Foundation,presented a grant of
$10,000 to the Ministries. In the photo from left to right
are Fred Groser, Newsday Publisher; Dale Cole, Newsday Community
Affairs Project Manager; Debby Knapp, Clinical Coordinator for The
Ministries;Ann Moran-Smith, Ministries Executive
Director;
and Paul Fleishman, Newsday VP of Public Affairs.
Dear Friends,
The Ministries was born in 1967 -- 45 years ago. We were first
called The Nesconset Experimental Ministries. As our early name
implied, our founders designed an experiment where churches, temples,
and regular folks would work together to build a future of hope and
promise for our less fortunate neighbors. Our mission then, as now, was
to provide hope and sustenance to children, adults, and families in
need right here in our Long Island community. Through the years, and
through our partnership with local churches, temples, organizations,
individuals, and you, we have been honored to provide caring and
dignified services to more than half-a-million people. Throughout our
year in Nesconset, more than a decade at the Smith Haven Mall, and our
past 29 years in Coram, not only have we seen the experiment succeed,
we have also been a model for many other interfaith ministries across
the country.
In 2011, The Ministries…
- Provided services to 16,370
- Provided 77,400 meals to 8600 hungry children, adults, and families
- Answered 3,589 requests for information and referral
- Sheltered 30 homeless and runaway youth at Seabury Barn
- Provided summer camp experiences to 127 youth
- Provided counseling services to 295 youth and adults
- Provided clothing to 306 children and adults
- Provided holiday gifts and adopt-a-family services to 767 persons
- Provided school supplies to 192 children
- Provided Case Advocacy services to 2464 persons
Proud of our past, we are looking forward to our future. During this coming year, our staff and volunteers will continue to work to provide essential services while our Board of Governors will focus on increasing resources to support our programming in this period of diminishing government funds.
Two of our programs:
At The Ministries Seabury Barn Program, our caring and dedicated staff reach out to runaway and homeless youth between the ages of 12 and 17. We provide a safe haven for youth in crisis. Through our program of case management and group, individual and family counseling, we are able to reunite many families. When reunification is not possible, we assist residents with designing a long-term plan for successful living. Seabury Barn is open 24 hours a day/365 days a year; we never close. Youth are provided with food, clothing, shelter, education, medical, and other services, individualized to meet their needs.
A common question is, "What kind of teenager comes to Seabury Barn?" Most of the youth come from troubled homes with a history of mental illness, domestic violence or child abuse, or substance abuse. Some children have been abandoned; many have run away due to abuse or neglect. Each child is welcomed into The Barn and provided with the necessary tools to formulate a plan and move on to success in their lives.
Seabury Barn is licensed through the NYS Office of Children and Family Services. We are funded through the Suffolk County Youth Bureau and the NYS Office of Children and Family Services. Recognizing the fact that government grants cannot possibly cover all expenses of this program, your generous donations also help to make this program possible.
Our Emergency Food Pantry provides a three-day supply of food to people in need. Need is established through our in-house intake process. Our two most common questions are, "Where does the food come from?" and "Who are your pantry clients"? The majority of the food we distribute comes to us in the form of donations from individuals and families in Suffolk County. Some of our donors have previously been clients of our pantry; others are people who recognize the need for food assistance and generously share their resources with those who are less fortunate. The Ministries is also a member of Long Island Cares and receives some grants through HPNAP and TFAP which enable us to order items through the food bank. The only government funding which our pantry receives is through EFSP (Emergency Food and Shelter Program). We are also a member agency of United Way of Long Island which helps to fund our pantry as well as our other programs and services.
Who comes to our pantry? Your next-door neighbor who is working two jobs, the single mother of three in your son's playgroup who is working 40 hours a week and still cannot make ends meet, the senior citizen living on a fixed income, or the homeless man you pass on the street.
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