16338: (Hermantin)Miami Herald-Working to make Haitian community stronger (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Sat, Aug. 09, 2003

Working to make Haitian community stronger

South Floridas Haitian Americans are a fast-growing, high-profile community.
There is a pressing need to determine what steps to take, beyond immigration
advocacy, to assure our social, educational, economic and political
well-being.

Recently, 125 stakeholders from the Haitian community met. They want to
break down the barriers to healthcare by creating a sustainable community
partnership. By setting goals and priorities, we can create a blueprint that
will help empower the Haitian community.

The Little Haiti Community Collaborative is made up of four organizations:
Little Haiti Housing Association, Women's Alliance of Dade and Broward,
Haitian Women of Miami and the Haitian Neighborhood Center-Sant La. They
recognize that physical and mental health cannot be sustained in an
environment that does not represent a ``living community.''

The collaborative will rely upon residents, businesspersons and community
leaders to build a healthy, prosperous and politically savvy community.
Several Haitian Americans now hold elective office in South Florida. The
collaborative hopes to build on these first, modest accomplishments. It
wants to create a powerful springboard from which to launch enterprises that
will uplift our community politically, socially and economically.

We will not move forward if we wait for others to act on our behalf or to
bestow favors upon us.

GEPSIE M. METELLUS

Haitian Neighborhood Center
Miami

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