Dec 21, 2011 1:09 PM

Desiree Burgess, 38, has just finished removing a pan of bubbling lasagna from the oven on a recent Thursday afternoon. Her infant son, Desmond, is sleeping peacefully in his playpen while her husband, Shedrick, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, greets guests with a smile when they come to the door.

This scene of domestic tranquility could easily be found in any town across the United States, as families gather to share dinner in the comfort of their warm homes.

But Ms. Burgess and her family are homeless.

The room where they are staying, which features a small kitchenette, is one of 32 at the Hidden Cove Motel in 
Hampton Bays. Their room is cozy, clean and welcoming. It is also temporary, though 
that has not prevented it 
from becoming the epicenter of controversy that has 
divided the community.

The decision by the Suffolk County Department of Social Services to utilize the Hidden Cove Motel as a full-scale homeless shelter has neighbors who live on West Tiana Road, near the facility, furious. For weeks, they have galvanized and reached out to elected officials to try and prevent the DSS from utilizing the site, stating their belief that a homeless shelter will send property values plummeting and 
create a plethora of safety and quality of life concerns.

Currently, the Burgesses are one of 19 homeless families temporarily housed at the motel, the only homeless shelter of its kind in Southampton Town. The next closest facility is in Riverhead Town, according to DSS officials, and the bulk of the homeless shelters are placed in western Suffolk County, in Bellport, Bayport, Central Islip, Brentwood and Huntington. There are no shelters in East Hampton Town.

The Hidden Cove Motel, once its transformation is complete, will be able to house up to 30 homeless families at once, and will serve as one of 53 such shelters now being run by the DSS.

Those low-income residents who had been renting rooms at the motel on a weekly or monthly basis were informed in November that they were being evicted to make room for the new homeless shelter, which is run under the auspices of Community Housing Innovations Inc.

The uproar, according to Gregory Blass, the commissioner of the DSS, has succeeded in feeding the fears of those who unfairly view all homeless as dangerous criminals, drug addicts, alcoholics or lazy individuals who choose not to work. And he says that recent efforts by Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst and Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman, who have been working with neighbors who were trying to block the opening of 
the Hampton Bays shelter, 
have stirred up a simmering pot of prejudice against the homeless.

Ms. Throne-Holst has decried the fact that DSS began moving families into the facility without notifying the town, an action that Mr. Schneiderman has said violates a county law that caps the number of homeless allowed to live in one facility at 12. This week, Ms. Throne-Holst sent a letter to the operators of the motel stating, in part, that individuals cannot be housed at the facility for more than one month, or the operators risk violating town code.

The DSS, Mr. Blass maintains, is directed by the state to house all of the county’s homeless, a task that has become more challenging now that there are more than 500 homeless families in Suffolk, a number that continues to grow. He also said his office is not required by law to notify towns and villages whenever they open a new shelter in the county, and that privacy laws preclude disclosure of their locations.

“To what end should we have given them a head’s up? So they could ambush us?” Mr. Blass asked, referring to Ms. Throne-Holst’s demands. “It’s the sensationalism that the politicians have fostered that has contributed to this exaggerated and deplorable image of the homeless.”

A Perfect Storm

Mr. Blass is working to put an end to those misconceptions, explaining that there is a new face to homelessness in Suffolk County—and across the nation. He said many factors, such as climbing unemployment, a sluggish economy and a rash of foreclosures, in addition to situations that involve domestic violence, have led to unprecedented numbers of homeless families in Suffolk, and a surge in the number of first-time homeless who are seeking emergency and temporary shelter as they try to repair their shattered lives.

“It’s a perfect storm,” he said.

Still, Mr. Blass stresses that the shelters are meant to be temporary, and residents must work toward finding themselves permanent shelter. The average family, he said, typically spends four to six months in emergency housing like that now being offered at the Hidden Cove Motel. Mr. Blass also pointed out that those placed in the facility must follow stringent rules, including honoring curfews, and allow for the inspection of their rooms. Security is present on site and staff is available 24 hours a day.