Riverhead Elks Club presents $2,500 check to Suffolk County United Veterans

The Riverhead Elks Lodge last week presented a $2,500 check to Suffolk County United Veterans for renovations to the organization’s Maple Avenue home for veterans.

The money was raised during the Elks’ Rock-n-Blues for the Vets event on March 7, when Joe Hampton & the Kingpins, Blues Hall of Fame inductee The Pamela Betti Band and Mike Ryan & Friends entertained a sold-out crowd at the Elks’ lodge.

“I’m a new member of the Elks, and we decided to have an event, and we couldn’t think of a better cause to benefit than our vets,” said David Wellan, a.k.a. Joe Hampton of Joe Hampton & the Kingpins.

Suffolk County United Veterans, which has its main office on Roanoke Avenue, is on a mission to help homeless veterans achieve housing and economic stability. It works to provide emergency shelter, transitional housing, permanent housing and senior housing to veterans living in the county. It owns seven houses in the community and operate two food pantries, serving more than 100 people.

“I used my connections on the Riverhead Vets Advisory Committee to contact the Suffolk County United Veterans, and we planned a visit,” Mike Pankowski, commander of the American Legion post in Riverhead.

During the visit with Ruth McDay and Joanne Massimo, representatives from the SCUV, it was made clear that the house was in need of renovations to make the bathrooms handicapped accessible.

Jerry Stephens, an Army veteran who suffers from painful arthritis, has been living in the Maple Avenue house since January 2014.

“I have a hard time getting my legs around here,” Stephens explained. “It’s arthritis, my bad back, all kinds of things.” The handicap bathroom will be an extreme improvement, he said. He hopes to one day see a ramp installed on the premises as well.

“Anything that can be done is beneficial and appreciated,” said Bob Kujawski, who served in the Army for five years and has lived in the house for two-and-a-half months.