Bethany House, a non-profit group of warm loving shelters, was founded in 1978 in response to a demonstrated need for shelter for homeless women and their children. For over thirty-five years, Bethany has provided safe, supportive emergency and transitional housing and services for homeless women and their dependent children. Bethany House exists to strengthen and assist those women and children from Long Island who are deprived of the basic resources required for natural and healthy growth and development. Bethany House seeks to create a homelike atmosphere providing shelter and nutritious meals, combined with comprehensive social services, to enable the individual or family to attain self-sufficiency and restore their human dignity.