From one Guilderland home to another
Beatty is set to help those in need — right here and now


GUILDERLAND -- Deborah Beatty is opening a not-for-profit business out of her suburban home to help those in this affluent town who need "a temporary lift out of calamity"with no strings attached," Beatty said.

Her organization, aptly named No Strings Attached, will open when she receives her state tax permits, probably within a month, she said.
"It’s an idea that was sparked just by seeing people fallen on hard times," Beatty said. "Things are going great and then, all of a sudden, things happen and you need a hand out" of a bad situation.

Her inspiration to help came after a woman and her son lost their belongings in a fire. A group helping the family requested a particular size of clothing. Beatty said that the clothes were the wrong size and were returned.

She wanted to put the returned clothes to good use, and to have clothes or other items ready for the next person with a need, without delay. She said that people who are out of work may need household items, as may mothers who find themselves divorced or widowed.

Beatty, herself, experienced trouble years ago, she said.
"I felt abandoned, and I felt alone," she said. Others helped her, and now she wants to help her community. "I just want to be ready and have what they need, and give them a hand up so they can get on with their lives," she said. "There doesn’t seem to be any shortage of need. People are hiding it. They’re living paycheck to paycheck. People don’t think to do something like this here."
Beatty is conscientious about remaining "above board" with her business. So far, she has helped a few families, using her own and her parents’ personally-donated items, but she is waiting for all her permits to be in place before she begins a larger-scale distribution with donations from others.
"I’m taking more stuff in right now," she said. "I have a waiting list of people who have needs."

People in pain

So far, Beatty‘s six-year-old daughter has donated most of the toys on her storage shelves.
"We trust in God that what goes around comes around," Beatty said. "I’m a Christian. Doing this myself"I never could have. When I came to the Lord, I could hear people crying out everywhere. They’re hurting. They’re losing jobs. Their kids are sick or dying. They’re losing their houses. And, they’re hiding it. It’s just a love of God.
"God loves them. I never would have done this on my own. This is God’s heart. This is what He wants. I’m a Bible teacher. I preach the word of God. Right now, people are hurting. They don’t want to hear. There’s a way out. This was His idea. He told me to do it and I’m just being obedient," she said.
"The main thing is, everything had to be legal and above board," she said.
"People feel invisible, and betrayed, and forgotten. God wants them to know, ‘I did not forget you,’ " she said.

Beatty used to work for the Guilderland school district, and she told her co-workers about her project before she left.
"It just seems to fall in place like it’s meant to be. I haven’t had to advertise anywhere," Beatty said.
"I have a vision for it that’s very huge. I’d love to step out into a facility," she said. "People’s hearts are so big. I see taking over a building, helping take in the homeless, supplying them with training"with no strings attached. That’s where my vision is headed, eventually."