Hildebrand Family Self-Help Center

CONTACT:

614 Massachusetts Ave., 2nd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-491-5752

Joyce Mathon Trotman, Executive Director

DESCRIPTION:

“Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime.” This old adage is the guiding principle behind the Hildrebrand Family Self Help Center. Founded by Rev. Dr. LeRoy Attles of St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church in Cambridge when he encountered a homeless person on the steps of the church, Rev. Attles learned that often-times simply providing shelter to those in need is not enough. Now a $1 million agency serving more than 1,000 families since its inception, Hildebrand addresses the multiple issues facing the homeless. Job training, financial education, parenting assistance coincide along with proving safe shelter to needy families. Hildebrand enourages families to examine the decisions that lead to homelessness, and create a plan of action that moves them toward permanent affordable housing and self-sufficiency. Hildebrand is not only a shelter, it is place of refuge, restoration and renewal. It “teaches” people how to live productive lives. Let’s go fishing together.

(2003: HUMAN SERVICES: Health and Aging: General)