“What we realized is that there hasn’t been a Haitian structure as a grassroots organization in Springfield to ... take charge as Haitians holistically speaking or completely speaking,” Dorsainvil said. “... We are working to make sure that if you’re looking for a grassroots organization that can intervene on behalf of the Haitian community when it comes to housing, immigration papers or legal documents, so this is why we are forming is to put this organization to work with the community.”
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The center is a one-stop-shop for resources, Dorsainvil said, with its goal being to end the need for Haitians to visit organizations all over to find what they need. He said they can come to the community center and receive help on site or be referred immediately to where they need to go.
The community center operates Monday through Friday, with the goal to have someone on site from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 10 or 11 p.m., in order to provide services to those who work different shifts, Dorsainvil said. Staffing has started small because the organizers don’t have the financial ability to hire more people, but in the meantime, pastors will be on site.
Dorsainvil said the community center has received about $5,000 from Welcome Springfield, which is disbanding, and is applying for more.
The center plans to expand its services, being a space for youth to express themselves, for older adults to receive various amenities and more, Dorsainvil said.
He said the community center is working with local pastors, the Nehemiah Foundation and Catholic Charities, and hopes to build more support soon.
Carl Ruby, a Springfield pastor who works with the Haitian community and provided advice to the organizers, said initially he and others thought they would help out the Haitian community, but he saw them taking the lead. He now provides any advice when it is needed, Ruby said.
The leaders at the community center have proximity and innate understanding of those who come seeking assistance, Ruby said. They can overcome difficulties related to language and cultural barriers.
“There are services that are hard for us to provide because of the language and cultural barriers that they will be more successful at addressing a lot of times,” Ruby said.
Ruby said around 40 pastors met previously to listen to members of the Haitian community and get an idea of their specific needs after a fatal school bus accident involving a non-licensed Haitian driver highlighted the necessity for a more organized effort. He said some Haitian pastors said that they would start a nonprofit with this in mind and they needed some help.
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