Twenty three years ago Bob and his wife suffered the loss of a severely brain damaged child.  Although they received tremendous support while their very medically frail child received nursing care in hospital, they realized there were few services available to help them if they were to leave - the few services that were available were very fragmented and difficult to coordinate.

The daunting task of home care was overwhelming, especially without an agency available to coordinate the services needed to support Angela at home. They also learned that there were no local specialized homes or facility available that could care for her; he nearest facilities were hours from their home on Long Island.  The overall lack of services locally put additional emotional and physical strains on the family.

Faced with their personal tragedy, made worse by the many voids in the system, the Policastros committed themselves to improving the lives of medically frail children and their families.

Bob has since been a strong voice addressing the problems and needs facing medically fragile children and their families, pushing forward with advocacy and educational efforts to promote a greater knowledge and understanding of medically frail children and their needs.

In 1992, the non-profit Angela's House, was created to offer families and professionals an agency to call to help medically frail children and their families.  Eight years later, the first Angela's House facility, the first of its kind special home for children on Long Island, opened in East Moriches. In 2005 a second home was opened in Smithtown, and a third is planned to be opened near Stony Brook in the near future.

Angela's home provides a wide of programs and support services for the disabled children and their families, and conducts several fund-raising events during the year.  For more information, visit their website: angelashouse.org.

Due to his hectic schedule, Bob had to leave before we could take a photo, so we borrowed one from Angela's House website - that's Bob in the Santa suit at one of their holiday parties.