About Us ~ Center for Haitian Studies

PROFILE

The Center for Haitian Studies (CHS) is a duly registered non-profit, tax-exempt health and
social service organization founded in 1988 for the purpose of serving the disenfranchised populations of Little Haiti/Little River in Miami, Florida. In keeping with its mission, CHS provides a wide range of services to members of the population including health education, health services free of charge to indigents, psychosocial counseling, case management, home-delivered meals, food bank, direct financial assistance and transportation. Other services provided by the Center for Haitian Studies to the general population include crime prevention, literacy, case management, cultural adaptation and counseling services for new immigrants who arrived in Florida after 1994.

Over the past seventeen year, CHS has received more than twenty million dollars in grants from
various federal, state and local entities such as the Centers for Disease Control, Miami-Dade
County, the City of Miami Community Development Block Grant, HOPWA, the University of
Miami Area Health Education, the Health Foundation of South Florida, the Dr. John T.
MacDonald Foundation and the Dade Community Foundation. As early as of 1989, the Center
for Haitian Studies was renown as the main provider of HIV/AIDS-related services to Haitian
Americans living in Dade County and has become a unique resource center for the provision of
direct support services to the underserved population of Little Haiti/Little River affected by
HIV/AIDS.

As the AIDS epidemic took its toll on the multi-ethnic community of South Florida, a high rate
of HIV infection was observed among Haitians living in Dade County. Confusion about the
cause of this increased number of cases among Haitians led scientists and the general public to
consider "being Haitian" as a risk factor in contracting and transmitting HIV. Due to this
systematic blame on their nationality, Haitians reacted by perceiving AIDS as a conspiracy
against them as unwanted immigrants in the United States. CHS' community roots created a
place for the agency as one that could be trusted by Haitian Americans who felt stigmatized
elsewhere. During this period, the Center laid the foundation of what has become the only
nationally known counseling program successful in working with Haitian Americans affected by
HIV/AIDS. Providers in other cities with large populations of Haitians, including Port-au-Prince, New York, Boston and Montreal, have unsuccessfully attempted to provide these types of services to Haitians.

Given the stigma associated with AIDS in the Haitian population, CHS' growing caseload of
clients receiving services is an outstanding accomplishment in the history of the agency.
During a visit of the National AIDS Committee to the Center in 1996, a number of CHS clients
communicated eloquently to the White House delegation their frustration, the pain they endure
dealing with HIV and the lack of resources available to them in the community. They discussed
the deficiencies in the system and made suggestions about changes they would like to see.The
fact that CHS' Haitian American clients openly discuss their HIV status with other clients and
with counselors is considered to be a major milestone in the goal of the Center to improve the
conditions of those affected by HIV in the Haitian community.

All CHS staff who are involved in program planning or who have direct contact with clients are sensitive to Haitian culture and values, particularly to the history of the Haitian community with respect to HIV. CHS board and staff members are experienced in the provision of counseling, case management, health, research and educational services. They have a full understanding of issues related to Haitian beliefs and risk practices impacting on HIV transmission. Staff members having direct contact with clients and the public are fluent in both English and Creole. The proposed project will be implemented under the supervision and the technical assistance of a team with extensive experience of providing services to the target population. Based on past and current successful experiences of CHS in providing services to the target population of HIV/AIDS clients, effective management of this project is guaranteed. The Center for Haitian Studies is renown for its fiscal integrity and its managerial capacity to implement the proposed project.
The clientele served by the Center includes members of the multi-ethnic populations of Miami-Dade County affected by chronic illnesses and by infectious diseases. CHS currently serves clients who a) have extremely limited access to most services offered by state, federal and local
government entities because of lack of information or unacculturation and language barriers;
and b) live in pockets of Little Haiti not readily accessible by public transportation.

Center for Haitian Studies, Health and Human Services, Inc. 8260 N.E. 2nd Avenue, Miami, FL 33138
Tel: 305 757-9555 Fax: 305 756-8023 * www.centerforhaitianstudies.org
CHS is a private non-profit Communiy-based Organization. An equal opportunity employer.
Area of Critical Need Facility approved by the Florida Medical Board