A new housing project in Hempstead is aiming at putting roofs over the heads of veterans.

Army veteran Deborah Custis was among those chosen to live in the row of townhouses on Henry Street.

They are the result of a $1.4 million rehabilitation project between Nassau County and the nonprofit group Beacon House. The nonprofit has provided temporary and permanent residences for more than 7,000 veterans on Long island.

"It's peaceful, it's relaxing when I walk into my home, because this is home, it's something that's been needed for so long," Custis says.

Custis was a private in the Army in the late 80s. The single mother says she turned to drugs and alcohol and spent the past decade in and out of rehab and shelters.

Five of the six homes are occupied. The veterans say they are thankful to be with their families and feel like part of a community again.