Caribbean Foundation of Boston

CONTACT:

317 Blue Hill Ave.
Boston, MA 02121
617-445-1228

Beulah Providence, Executive Director

DESCRIPTION:

The Caribbean Foundation was established in 1973 by a group of inner-city residents, primarily women from the Caribbean Islands, who wanted to expand home care for their culturally diverse and economically disadvantaged community. Its founder had emigrated to the U.S. from Dominica in 1960, and found work as a housekeeper before winning a scholarship to Northeastern University -- she has since received the "Hometown Hero Award" from WHDH-TV, and the "Through the Ages Award" from the Eldercare Charitable Foundation. Her great idea is to train and hire local residents to provide a wide range of homemaking, home health aide, and companionship services to enable frail elders and disabled people in the inner city to live safely in their homes. This model of peer "neighbor helping neighbor" service not only creates job opportunities in the neighborhoods and fosters a community of trainees, workers and clients who share a common culture and help each other thrive, but ensures that homemakers, aides, and companions have first-hand knowledge of the community, which enables them to fulfill their clients' needs in ways that traditional agencies have been unable to do. Two new Extended Family programs -- one for grandparents who raise their grandchildren, and one for residents of homeless shelters transitioning to apartments -- are extending the model of care to include life situations not typically covered by eldercare agencies.

(2002: HUMAN SERVICES: Health and Aging: General)