Nuestra Casa Abierta, un éxito!

Project Hope/Proyecto Esperanza opened its doors to fellow social warriors and clients last night. Representatives from agencies, community centers, and non-profits all over the greater Pawtucket area filed through the front entrance at 474 Broadway to chat about how we can help each other achieve the same goal. Clients learned about how to gain access to food stamps, and what other services are provided right in their own neighborhood. Little children chewed on cookies from Kafe Lila. Adults sipped their fine tasting coffee. Hispanic Elder Outreach worker Luis Jusino spoke about the Price of Silence - elders in our communities, in the house next door, who have no family and no one to advocate for them. One woman he visited only qualified for $16 from SNAP (food stamps). When he opened her fridge, he found only part of a rotting plantain. These are realities, and challenges for all of us in the human services field.

As winter approaches, and homeless shelters are already overflowing, this collaboration in the community will help to best address the needs of each person who walks through any agency's doors. Violence, among youth especially, dots the covers of the Pawtucket times daily. Single mothers walk the streets with their small children, struggling to make it to the food pantry a mile away. It's the coldest night this autumn, and an elderly man calls to see if we can help him get his heat back on.

These kinds of problem plague our community. They are everywhere. Our neighbors are struggling. Let's work together, avoid recreating the wheel, and keep the spokes moving down a united path.

We call for peace: on the streets, in our hearts, for our bodies, in our minds. We want full stomachs, roofs over our heads, warm boots on our feet, and a job to effectively engage us in society.

Thanks to everyone who came out to Proyecto Esperanza last night! We HOPE to see you again.


And a special thank you to Kafe Lila for donating refreshments. There's no match for Lila's finely brewed coffee and vegan pumpkin chocolate chunk cookies. Visit 250 Main Street in Pawtucket for a fine treat!

Agencies and organizations present:

Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America
Institute for the Study and Practice of Non-Violence
Coalition for the Homeless
Children's Friend and Services
Blackstone Valley Community Action
Woodlawn Community Development Corporation
Diocese of Providence Social Ministry Secretariat
Pawtucket Prevention Coalition
Rhode Island Campus Compact
Blackstone Academy
Corporation for National and Community Service
Gateway Healthcare
New Hope Faith Center/East Side Recovery House