El Centro Celebrates 25 Years of Service to the Community
In 1997, Roberto Hernandez recognized the Hispanic population in the City of Trenton was grossly underserved — dealing with poverty and violence in their neighborhoods. Hernandez, who was working as a Program Coordinator with the Family Growth Program at the time, said he brought it up to then Executive Director Fran Dolan during a Board of Trustees meeting. He may have mentioned it a few more times too.
With support from Catholic Charities, Hernandez was able to secure a grant for $150,000 to provide family counseling, health care through the mobile care unit from St. Francis Hospital, anger management classes, legal services and child care. “I am fortunate to work for Catholic Charities. I can live my faith and get paid at the same time,” he said.
“I had the grant, but we needed a place. So, I approached Monsignor Toomey because I knew there was space in the rectory at Sacred Heart Church on Centre Street. He said yes, we could rent it for $1,000. My heart sank. I said, ‘I can’t afford $1,000 a month.’ And then Monsignor said no, that’s for the year.”
Hernandez said they cleaned up the space, painted and got everything ready within a month. In November of 1999, El Centro de Recursos Para Familias opened its doors. Then, Hernandez said he started getting scared. “We’d made this big investment. What if no one comes? So we made fliers. And people started coming, but it was slowly at first.”
After operating for about a month, the staff at El Centro planned a march to let the community know they were there. The “We Believe in You – No More Violence” event was scheduled to start at 10:30 am. “That Saturday morning at 10 am, the street was empty. I thought this is it, we’re doomed,” said Hernandez. “But at 10:10, I looked outside and there were between 700 and 800 people in the street ready to go. That march baptized us in the community.”
When the doors opened 25 years ago, the goal was to empower families, foster positive connections and strengthen the support system for Latinos in the community. “While the array of services offered by El Centro has evolved over the years,” said Mary Pettrow, Director of Children and Family Services, “the goal remains consistent. Initiatives over the years have included building coalitions, training law enforcement, establishing mentoring programs and holding vaccination clinics – all things to make a stronger, healthier community.”
Today, the team at El Centro primary provides immigration services for citizens who are new to the country. “The most important thing we do,” said Hernandez, “is establish trust. We have food and clothing to offer them. There are ELS classes and citizenship classes. When they come here, they know we see the humanity in them — that’s the piece that’s sometimes forgotten by others.”
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El Centro Program Director Roberto Hernandez and Catholic Charities Executive Director prepare to cut the cake at the 25th Anniversary Party for the program that provides services to Mercer County’s Latino community.
For information on the services offered through El Centro, call 609-394-2056.