Dr. Merites Abelard recalled many of his classmates dropping out of school due to finances while he grew up in Haiti. Abelard, now assistant executive director of Hope and Change for Haiti, was lucky enough to attend high school and college, which he told guests at Hope and Change for Haiti’s gala Thursday night at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet.

Hope and Change for Haiti, a Cranston-based nonprofit, invests in children’s education in Haiti, supports women’s empowerment through microfinance and provides shelter to individuals impacted by homelessness. The organization assists those in Haiti but also Rhode Islanders.

After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the organization’s third annual gala raised funds that will go toward providing school supplies and maintaining its sponsorship program to ensure children go to school. Additionally, the funds will be used to offer mental health training awareness and consultation to traumatized Haitian migrants who recently arrived in Rhode Island.

Channel 12’s Chelsea Jones emceed the event followed by keynote speaker Melissa Husband, Chief of Staff at Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, who spoke on her personal experience with mental health.

“Oftentimes, Black and Brown people struggle with their mental health due to trauma, violence abuse and poverty. I am certainly no exception to that,” said Husband.

Husband has served many careers from being a janitor and receptionist to serving as the founding executive director of Community Action Partnership of Providence. In CAPP’s role, she was one of three Black female executives of nonprofit organizations in the state and, when she was appointed to the position of Deputy Secretary of State in 2017, she was the only woman of color to be deputy secretary in the country.

Husband grew up on the south side of Providence in poverty and experienced childhood trauma. 

“These traumatic experiences created a battle inside me which was destructive,” Husband said.

The trauma she experienced as a youth followed her throughout life and showed up in different ways. Admitting she needed help was a difficult pill to swallow, but she prayed on it and looked for therapy.

“Therapy helped ground me; to reinforce my purpose and help me identify what I wanted – not what others wanted,” Husband said.

After attending therapy on three separate occasions, Husband said she came out the other side feeling like a warrior.

Elected officials including Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos, Attorney General Peter Neronha, Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, General Treasurer Seth Magaziner, Representative Brandon Potter and Representative Gregg Amore also shared their appreciation for Hope and Change for Haiti at Thursday’s event.

“In times like this, it’s reassuring to see Hope and Change for Haiti as a resource to the community and to set an example of what the United States really should be about,” said Gorbea, adding that current events with Haitians and other immigrants looking to gain refugee status in the U.S. are distressing.

Potter said it shouldn’t take nonprofit organizations doing this work for people to have housing or a fair shot at getting into the country and obtaining immigration status.

“We should all leave here tonight and think about what we can do in changing these systems that feed inequity and injustice, racism so it doesn’t take nonprofit organizations to pick up that slack,” said Potter.

Executive Director Aniece Germain thanked guests for attending Thursday’s gala and added the importance of working together for a more equitable approach to issues within the community.