In light of the tragic earthquake that rocked Haiti in January, the Somerville community has stepped up to lead fundraising efforts, hold benefit concerts and even send a team to help the underserved regions of Haiti directly.
The Haitian Coalition of Somerville, along with numerous other local organizations and the city of Somerville itself, has led efforts to support those in the community suffering emotional stress from the disaster and to assist incoming Haitian refugees seeking temporary protected status (TPS).
"We have partnered with many local organizations to help people file for TPS that has been granted by the president to give to Haitians," Franklin Dalembert, executive director of the coalition, told the Daily. "We will be helping people fill out applications and waivers to facilitate a number of things for them."
He stressed that while organizing fundraisers is important, it is crucial to provide an infrastructure of support for Haitians displaced by the tragedy.
"What we here at [the] coalition have been working on is helping the flow of people coming in from Haiti," Dalembert said. "We have a number of people coming in that have nothing whatsoever … they come and they need everything from food and shelter to getting access to social services. We've been helping, but we have limited resources."
The city of Somerville, which houses one of the largest Haitian populations in the state, mobilized a trauma response team to help affected people in the community cope with the emotional stress of the tragedy.
"The response team did work anywhere they were needed," Somerville Deputy Director of Communications Jaclyn Rossetti told the Daily. "They made sure students who had family missing had the opportunity to speak to somebody, a counselor or the trauma response team. Families needed support, so we made sure folks were available to them. That was our main priority."
Rossetti noted that the majority of city's efforts, other than organizing trauma response, have been aimed at organizing a large benefit concert, Somerville Sings for Haiti, in partnership with members of the Tufts community and Somerville Kiwanis, the local chapter of a global volunteer organization.
"A lot of people knew we were having this event, so we are expecting most of our donations and fundraising to come through the community," Rossetti said.
The concert will take place at 6:30 p.m. today at the Somerville Theater. Tickets, which sell for a suggested $30, will account for the majority of the donations, with other fundraising initiatives — like raffles and silent auctions — going on simultaneously.
Some of the groups performing at the event include Jimmy Tingle, Tony V., Booty Vortex, Ray Greene and Tufts performers sQ!, BlackOut and B.E.A.T.S.
According to Rossetti, the basis for the concert came from the city's experience hosting a large fundraiser in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which raised $23,000 for the cause.
"We wanted to do a similar event [to the Katrina fundraiser], but because a lot of community organizations are running fundraisers, we wanted to incorporate many different groups to make sure they have the chance to participate," Rossetti said. "We reached out to many local bands and groups at Tufts, [which] has been a great supporter. The situation really lends itself to a concert better than any other sort of event."
Sophomore Ethan Maccoby, a member and business manager of Tufts sQ!, expressed his excitement that the group was asked to take part and help.
"sQ! is very proud to be part of this concert," he said. "What happened in Haiti was a horrible tragedy and we just want to help … I'm glad we could be one of the groups representing Tufts, helping raise money for the relief effort."
Beyond the local initiatives, the Haitian coalition has also spent the few months since the earthquake organizing a team to provide direct aid to victims in Haiti.
According to Dalembert, a delegation of doctors, nurses, nursing staff, social workers, therapists and mental health officials will be in Haiti from April 17−30. The goal will be to provide medical care and supplies to regions that are largely underserved, like Jacmel.
Dalembert added that the coalition has a 45−square−foot container in Somerville where people can donate food and supplies, and it is nearly full.
He noted the strong partnerships among different community groups that have emerged in response to the crisis. The coalition has partnered with organizations like the Community Action Agency of Somerville and local churches.
Rossetti echoed this sentiment, saying that the entire Somerville community has rallied around the Haiti cause.
"We're not the only ones in the community," she said. "Whether it's businesses donating services/products to raffle off, or Tufts University's great support with the musical groups and fundraising, the chamber of commerce for hosting this concert and the Somerville Theater for allowing us to have the concert there — everyone wants to give."
