Home

Program & Services

Computer Lab

Staff/Board

Volunteer

News And Events

Pictures

Gala 2004

Gala 2005

Art Class

Esl Class

Citizens Class

Sponsor/Links

Contact Us

Haitian Coalition

Involvement Is Power / Patisipasyon Se Fos"

The Haitian Coalition services and activities!

The Haitian Coalition ran  different activities throughout the past year.  In addition to the programs run directly by the Haitian Coalition at the offices, there was much collaboration with Somerville and Boston-based organizations.

The Haitian Coalition

The Haitian Coalition currently teaches English as a Second Language (ESL) classes twice a week.  This program is not in collaboration with other community agencies.  There are four volunteer teachers, of whom two are Haitian.  Of these teachers, one is a former peer leader of the Haitian Coalition.  There are currently 24 students enrolled in the ESL classes – ten in level 1 (beginning) and fourteen in level 2 (advanced).

 

The Haitian Coalition also administers citizenship classes, without collaboration with outside organizations.  This is very important for the increased success of the clients.  There are currently sixteen students enrolled in citizenship classes at the Haitian Coalition.  This past year, twelve students successfully became U.S. citizens with the help of the Coalition.  It is also important to note that through the Haitian Coalition’s walk-in client services, 50 additional people were given help with their citizenship applications.

The Haitian Coalition also runs and organizes the Clarendon Hill Computer Center.  The Computer Center is open five days a week, throughout the school year and the summer months.  During the school year, the center is open from 2pm to 6pm, Monday through Friday.  During the summer, the center is open from 10am to 6pm, Monday through Friday.  The center is used for many activities, from online research, to paper writing, to games.  This past year, the number of participants using the center increased to approximately 30 youth per day.

The Drawing and Painting Class at the Haitian Coalition also experienced much success this past year.  Under the direction of Valentin Iviquel, twelve youth participated in an intensive summer program where they learned many drawing and painting skills.  This twelve-week program was made possible with resources and financial donations from the following organizations: The Somerville Art Council and the Kiwanis.  

Tufts University

The After-school Bilingual Program is a collaborative effort with the University College of Community and Public Services at Tufts University. The Haitian Coalition has received support from Tufts University for this collaborative project.  As assessed by a University College Scholar from Tufts University, there is a major need for bilingual education in Somerville in order to provide adequate educational opportunities for the growing immigrant population.  The ultimate goal of this project is to give Haitian youth better access to higher educational opportunities. This project will implement a bilingual MCAS/SAT preparation class for Haitian youth in the Somerville High School.  The youth will be taught test-taking strategies in their own language, while also becoming familiar with the English language. 

The second collaborative program that the Haitian Coalition is currently participating in, is a research project, “Assessing and Controlling Occupational Risks Among Immigrants in Somerville, MA,” also in collaboration with Tufts University.  According to the director of the Tufts research program, the City of Somerville serves as a natural and appropriate location for projects that seek to improve the health of immigrants as a result of interventions targeting the work environment.  The goals of this project are:

1)      To create and implement an annual on-going needs assessment that will help to understand the occupational risks among immigrants residing in Somerville.

2)      To establish a peer-based sustainable community capability for gathering and disseminating information on work and health among these immigrant populations.

3)      To create a community-based organizational structure to address work-related risks to immigrant workers in Somerville. 

This project is a collaborative effort between Tufts University and many other community organizations.  The collaborators include: The Haitian Coalition, the Immigrant Service Providers Group, the Cambridge Health Alliance, the Brazilian Women’s Group, the Community Action Agency of Somerville, and the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH). 

This project will not only establish an on-going needs assessment and peer-based sustainable community, but it will do so with the help 20 teenagers from Somerville.  The Haitian Coalition, in coordination with CAAS, will recruit these teens to be trained in health and safety awareness, group leadership, and effective communication.  These youth will become health educators for their families and communities and advocates for safer and healthier working conditions.

Greater Boston Legal Services

The Haitian Coalition is also in partnership with Greater Boston Legal Services.  Each week an attorney from the organization is onsite for four hours.  During this time, outreach is given to the Haitian Community focusing on worker’s rights (employment law) and taxes.  The attorney also administers occasional workshops.  The onsite time is dedicated to providing clients with advice, referrals and full legal representation, when necessary.  This service has been donated free of charge to the Haitian Coalition.

Somerville Special Education Advocacy Project

In collaboration with the Somerville Special Education Advocacy Project (SSEAP), the Haitian Coalition recently held a workshop for parents entitled: “Special Education: Basic Rights.”  This workshop introduced parents to the rights that children with disabilities are entitled to in their public schools.  The parents learned: how to refer children for special education, what evaluations are done by school districts, who is eligible for special education, what types of services are available, what legal rights there are to challenge the school district and how to keep children in school until they graduate.  .

Department of Social Services

In collaboration with the Department of Social Services, the Haitian Coalition is currently administering the Parenting Education Program.  This program is unique in that it is one of the few programs in the Greater Boston area to meet the need for information and training on positive ways to raise children in the Haitian community.  This program aims to help prevent child abuse and neglect among Haitian families in Somerville and Cambridge.   Home-based services are also an important component of the program for families who are unable to attend the monthly workshops.  Families are served based on DSS referrals. 

Cambridge Elder Services

The Haitian Coalition has always been active with the elderly Haitian population in Somerville.  This past year, Frank Salomon, coordinator of elder services, led the program to much success.  In addition to maintaining the walk-in program, where help is given in such areas as access to food programs, health care, housing and transportation issues, the elder services program helped 70 elders.  This program has been administered in collaboration with the Cambridge Elder Services.

Citizens for Citizens, Inc 

There are currently four seniors from the Haitian Coalition working at Citizens for Citizens, Inc. in
Union Square
These seniors are working four hours a day, five days a week.  They help with clerical work, cleaning, and also staff the computer room.

 

These seniors are working four hours a day, five days a week.  They help with clerical work, cleaning, and also staff the computer room. The Women’s Group

The Haitian Coalition also collaborated with the Women’s Group to bring three much-needed training forums to Somerville.  Approximately 20 people participated in these trainings, where two focused on early childhood care, and the third focused on first-time homebuyers and financial services.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tenants, youth and MIT students organized a day of service this past summer.  Many youth tenants were major organizers for this major event.  In addition to a clean-up effort around Clarendon Hill, there was food, music and a festival, thanks to the hard work of the organizers.  The City of Somerville and Multicultural Affairs gave support for this event.

 

 

These seniors are working four hours a day, five days a week.  They help with clerical work, cleaning, and also staff the computer room. These seniors are working four hours a day, five days a week.  They help with clerical work, cleaning, and also staff the computer room. These seniors are working four hours a day, five days a week.  They help with clerical work, cleaning, and also staff the computer room. These seniors are working four hours a day, five days a week.  They help with clerical work, cleaning, and also staff the computer room.