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| The Haitian Community Help Center has been
helping to improve the quality of life for immigrant families
for the past three years. During this time, the community
experienced shift in the ethnic make up of the community.
Haitians, Jamaicans, and, most recently Africans, who are
becoming a growing segment of the Germantown community, have
been the beneficiaries of the program offered at the Haitian
Community Help Center. Our extensive year-round community
services and educational programs are structured in direct
response to the interests of several hundred adults and youth
who live in this chronically underserved area. Programs
serving over 2,000 people each year are staffed by dedicated
volunteers, and delivered in an adequate maintained,
accessible space. |
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What we do |
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Recreational services to different age
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After-school tutoring (Grover Washington
High School) |
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GED/English at Second Language
Classes |
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“Step-by-Step Program”—mentoring service for
young Haitians who need assistance successfully and
gracefully transitioning from Haitian to American culture.
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Educational
Programs |
| Haitian Community Help Center currently
offers a wide range of social services and on going
educational and recreational programs to nearly 2,000
children, youth, adults, and seniors annually. |
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| Regular programs for
adults include orientation to introduce unemployed
mothers to effective job training programs; English for
Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and computer classes; and a
resource center for parents of children with special needs.
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| In the area of youth
development, our priority is to meet the pressing need
to reach many more children and young people through enhanced,
year-round programs of high quality. |
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| Our positive youth programs are designed to
engage participants in fun and educational activities which
improve their academic skills, build awareness of self and
community, and support overall healthy development. The
Haitian Community Help Center After-School Education Program
serves from 40-50 children ages 6-14 each day. The After
School Educational Program hours run Monday through Friday
from 3:30pm to 6:00pm at the Grover Washington Middle
School. |
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| “ No child can escape his community… The
life of the community flows about him, foul or pure; he swims
in it, goes to sleep in it, and wakes to the new day to find
it still above him. He belongs to it; it nourishes him, or
starves him, or poisons him; it gives him the substance of his
life.” --- J.K. Hart |
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| It is for this reason that HCHC After-School
Educational Program focuses on the academic and personal
development of our children, who hold the key to our
neighborhood’s future. HCHC fosters the academic and social
skills that our children will need to grow-up to become
empowered and self-reliant adults. |
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| HCHC hopes that through participation in the
program our young people will gain: |
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- Sound fundamental reading and math skills
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- Motivation to learn and an understanding of the
importance of academic achievement
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- New interests that inspire them to learn
and expand their horizons
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- Healthy socialization and the development of friendships
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- Strong value and respect for others
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FREE COMPUTER
CLASSES AT HAITIAN COMMUNITY HELP CENTER.
CALL THE CENTER
FOR MORE INFORMATION
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| Auxiliary |
| The Haitian Community Help Center Auxiliary
continues to support the center through many dedicated
individuals who give of their time, skills, and “smile”. |
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| The volunteers are our true
partners, supporting the Center in so many ways.
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If you would like to be a part of
this organization, plase contact our center
at:
(215)-224-4791. | |
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Special
Events |
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| HAITIAN UNITY DAY
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| The Haitian Community of Philadelphia is a
growing, thriving community of over 65,000 Haitians and
Haitian-Americans who have established their roots here since
the late 1970’s. As a thriving community, they have made many
strides and contributions to the betterment of Philadelphia;
however, their collective voice is far from a whisper in a
city of over 3 million. |
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| As a result, the Haitian Community has
suffered from the lack of support needed to meet their many
needs and challenges. This is illustrated in the lack of
support from the City at-large, high unemployment rates,
immigration issues, declining morale among young
Haitian-Americans, and a growing lack of awareness,
understanding, or respect of their culture, language, and
values, especially in recent years with the wave of political
strife affecting our country, Haiti. |
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| This year, great progress has been made
within the community to not only bring us together and engage
in meaningful dialogue, but to also begin creating a sound
platform for the City of Philadelphia to recognize our
contributions and us. With the efforts of the Haitian
Community Help Center and many other concerned stakeholders in
this city, a change for the better is here. |
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| To launch our efforts, the Haitian Community
Help Center and its partners envision Haitian Unity Day as a
way for the entire community and other Philadelphians to come
together to celebrate the establishment and presence of the
Haitian Community, to begin building bridges, to have a
collective voice, and to make a difference. |
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| To help realize this vision, we are reaching
out to corporations and other for-profit entities who service
the Haitian Community in Philadelphia and in other cities
worldwide to help us make our voice heard and our presence
known, not only in this city, but ultimately on a global
platform. |
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| The purpose of this event
is four-fold: |
| 1. To bring all Haitians in the City of
Philadelphia and surrounding Delaware Valley area together to
recognize and celebrate the rich culture and heritage, both
past, present, and future, of their home country, Haiti.
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| 2. To expose the City of Philadelphia to
Haitian culture and heritage and to create an awareness of the
Haitian community here. |
| 3. To shed a positive light on Haiti! We want
to dispel the negative connotations that mainstream media has
portrayed for so long on Haiti and promote the positive things
that Haitians have to offer to the world. |
| 4. To begin building the foundation within
our community as a collective group with a strong, positive
presence where we can share our resources to help one another
and be a positive asset to the City of Philadelphia and an
even stronger asset to Haiti. |
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| Goals |
| Although the main goal of this celebration is
to commemorate our history and culture, we also seek to:
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| 1. Offer local non-profit organizations
serving this community with a platform where they can voice
themselves. |
| 2. Encourage the community at-large to begin
organizing themselves and to recognize their power and
potential |
| 3. Enable the private sector to showcase
their goods and services to an ethnic group here that has not
yet been explored. |
| 4. Re-instill in younger generations pride in
their heritage, a desire to serve their peers and others in
the Haitian community in Philadelphia, and a reminder to never
forget their roots. |
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Unity Day is held
annual on the last Sunday of July at the African American
Museum, 601 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 10103. For
additional information, please contact
HCHC. |
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