In response to Mr. Bosco's letter in the July 14 issue of the Levittown Tribune, the YOM Board does appreciate Mr. Bosco's support of our agency and its many programs and services. We were, and are, grateful to Councilwoman Kestenbaum for trying to obtain a grant for us. However, to say that the town officials are heartless toward YOM is inaccurate. True, we have received no monetary increase in many years, however, the town has been otherwise supportive and assisted the agency in areas and ways that were not publicized. We have gone to the town with many so-called "small" things that could have had "major" and costly consequences had we not been aided by town officials and commissioners, etc.

We spoke to Supervisor Guardino about being turned down for the grant suggested by Ms. Kestenbaum, and came to understand why it was not an opportune time for the town to grant additional moneys. However, the supervisor did not completely rule out a possible increase in the future.

True, we are in a financial crunch due to the county's fiscal problems, but Mr. Guardino may have a point when he says that the town cannot bail out all the Town of Hempstead agencies that were hurt by the county's huge deficit.

As for a photo op for the supervisor, there was none, although the fact that we received the grants was reported in the paper. Mr. Dunne, Mr. Hudes and the state officials have been very supportive of our agency and are acutely aware of YOM's need for additional funds to continue to provide the community with quality human services. As we said before, "support" comes in many forms, not only financial, and the agency has been the recipient of a great deal of such ancillary aid.

We also hope that in the future, our community center may be the beneficiary of some town funds, but we are happy that the town is in good financial shape.

Lastly, we too appreciate the superb work Mr. Edmondson, our chief executive officer, has done throughout the years. The magnitude of his many accomplishments is truly remarkable. We therefore hope that community residents, businesses and others will continue to support our community center and its diligent staff.