May 2, 2026 • 22 mins
Since 1920, when it opened up as a three-room settlement house on Wall Street in Worcester, Friendly House's mission has stayed the same: do everything they can, in any way they can, to ensure residents have the resources they need to not just get by, but thrive. In many ways, the need for Friendly House and its programs is more dire than ever, and the team is ready to help. Executive Director Trish Appert and Director of Social Services Josefina Velez join Nichole on the show this week to tell their century-old story of community service and detail the programs they have available for those in need.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend.
Each week right here we come together and talk about
all the topics important to you and the place where
you live. Thanks for tuning in again this week. I'm
Nicole Davis. Over the decades, through wars, recessions, the passing
of several generations, even when back in the nineteen twenties
it started as just a small three room settlement house,
(00:29):
Friendly House in Wooster has had so much to offer
those in need in many ways. Now that need is
greater than it's ever been. When I came across Friendly
House recently, I knew I wanted to get the word
out about it. So let's do it right now here
on the show. With us, we have executive director Trish Appert.
Joseevina Valez is the social services program director as well
at Friendly House. Thank you both for being here, and Trisha,
(00:51):
I want to start about that storied history what I
was just talking about. Tell us a little bit more
about what got us to where Friendly House is today.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Friendly House is a really long and wonderful history in Worcester.
We were founded in nineteen twenty as a settlement house
and so that model was really of social work, of
being kind of grounded in a residential community and responding
to needs. And so you know, our mission has not
changed in one hundred and six years, and a lot
(01:20):
of the work programs have grown, but a lot of
that core work of anti poverty work and of working
with poor and immigrant households really holds true today. You know,
Worcester has about twenty five percent of its population is
foreign born.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Wow, so we're.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Really still serving it's a gateway city. We're just kind
of constantly serving new arrivals and new Americans. And Josephinda
does a lot of that work.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Yeah, Hosephina, tell us a little bit about the families
you work with every day and what it's like in
your job to navigate what the families need, because I'm
sure those needs are ever changing.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Yes, that's right.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
My job here is like overseas, so see and work
with families and different different situations, different problems, different nationality.
We actually we run so many problems here in Friendly House.
But my two problems that we run is the social
service against the food paintry. Every day we see between
(02:25):
forty to sixty people for different type of services especial immigration,
and housing homeless, you name it, many many other services
and then the food paantry we do like three days
food country here and Wall Street and we see many
families to and like I could give you the statistics
(02:46):
just for last month, we saw over seven hundred families
that came for food. Last month we saw close to
almost a hundred, close to nine hundred families they came
for social service. That does mean everything. So we are
very busy, very very busy every day. It's true. I
mean we see like you mentioned, we see a lot
(03:08):
of families from different places, different nationality, with different issues
and the population is growing every day. So he int
we actually in one of the agencies. They provide many
services they be able to do don't compare to other
other services.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
And Safina has been here for over three decades and
it's very humble about the work that she does and
how important she is to the city of Worcester. But
she leaves a team of seven that are all at
minimum bilingual, and so there are five languages roughly that
are spoken among her staff. And you know, her program
(03:48):
social services is at two different sites and really is
almost this front door of folks coming in for anybody
can come in and ask for things, and it ranges
for verbal translations and notary work and applying for benefits
food obviously, diapers, formula. That kind of basic needs. Two
(04:12):
more kind of what they call intensive case management, and
that could be eviction prevention, you know, housing, counseling, immigration,
basic immigration work, and that is you know, it's when
people are in crisis. To have her staff speak to
them in their language, it goes such.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
A long way.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Well, and not to mention, I think a lot of
people are in crisis these days that had maybe not
been even just a few months ago. The cost of
everything is going up. It's way more expensive to get
gas alone, but the cost of food at the supermarket.
Housing prices are through the roof. In Massachusetts, O Sophia,
tell me a little bit about what you're seeing in
your part of the state here when it comes to
(04:53):
this cost of living crisis.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
We work with many, many families in different needs. Would
they when would the I think that we see daily
is some family that's struggling with pay the rent. We
actually and the city we don't have that many programs.
With only a few programs they be able to assist
families with back rent or evictions, so for moving into
(05:15):
a new apartment. But I mean that's something that we
see every day every day. I mean even not just
only for families and wis theable family they're coming from,
you know, Boston or Springfield or any other series. They're
trying to say, oh, wis there is more the less
expensive than the town where I be living Now, I'm
looking for an apartment, be honest with you.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
Every day my.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
Staff we work on we look at the apartments to
see what is the less expensive apartment. So we have
a lested idea or listing for families and nothing, nothing
that we could find under under affordable.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Like maybe twelve hundred, fourteen hundred.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Everything is like you were two thousand, twenty five hundred,
twenty four hundred. So that's one of the things that
we see every day. A lot less families. There are
homeless families. They cannot they don't they don't collocate double
with all the families and families they kind of like
they moving from another countries or another states. Now, with
(06:14):
the situation about immigrations, a lot of families trying to
move away from where is the problem is big big issues.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
I mean they are you know, they're afraid.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
You know, example, people they're coming from a Los Angelest,
people that coming from Chicago, people come from New York.
They're afraid to stay in those in those states, so
they're trying to move into Wister thinking is better than
where they're living now. So when they're coming to to
our doors, it's like a family.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
They don't have nothing. I mean, they leave everything.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Behind and so we're kind of standing from zero tolcate
you know, VK then or trying to give their song
as system and refer them to where it's maybe it's
possibility that they could have some assistant.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
One of the nice things about Friendly House having you know,
fifteen programs across all these locations is that Josafina has
kind of others to work with a kind of across
programs and we we have we're a shelter provider for
the States. So for emergency family hou's it a shelter,
I should say, the social services, the food pantry works
(07:19):
very closely, and we have we have two other programs,
a child Meals program, which is kind of like a
quiet program that people cook the meals individually, you know,
packaged for children and then they get shipped off across
the city of Wecester. It's a different youth serving organization.
So it's a really it's a really wonderful US Dade
(07:39):
kind of program. And then we have our youth programs
and that I think, you know, when we have folks
who are in shelter and then we have we can
put them into after school care, get them connected, and
Hoosafena may be working with parents on budgeting or housing issues,
kind of assembling that, you know, that kind of a
collection of things that are going to help ameliorate, especially
(08:02):
when rents are so high and they need food. I mean,
that's where the budget gets really squeezed.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Yeah, so yeah, I do have a follow up on that,
but I did want to ask you really quickly, ho Safina.
Are you seeing fewer people who need the assistance come
out to get it because they're concerned about immigration problems?
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Yes, I just want to say something here. I don't know.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
I mean, we, my guy could say, probably be doing
like a door, were closing the front door to kat
you know, to protect their families that come. So that's
one thing that we have to change. We change that day.
Now we open the door for the client. We don't
leave the door open because you know, we afraid who
knows who's going to come to the door the eyes
(08:46):
or who knows who's the family they're come in for
the services. They are afraid and not to come because they
afraid the ice is going to you know, come here,
and maybe maybe the family could have papers, but maybe
when the ice come, the ice don't iple papers us.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
So and thens the that question. Yes, we see, we
see more.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
We do across other programs as well, particularly Office of
New Americans that we have. It sees people who won't
come to a distribution center that is really for them
and kind of has you know, baby kits and diapers
and food and so forth, and would prefer to have that,
(09:25):
uh you know, volunteers get.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Them delivered to their homes.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
It's a real issue and it's as Ho Safina was saying,
it's not just people who are undocumented.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
People who are.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
And who are kind of moving through the right steps
and everything are really terrified because obviously mistakes have been
made and it's just really awful.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Now, Trisha, you're providing so many of these services over
at Friendly House. How are you getting support to make
it happen? Who do you lean on to make this
all work?
Speaker 3 (09:54):
I have right here.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Obviously we go anywhere without her, But I lean on
a lot of people, I think the truth is, and
I lean on our program directors are really incredible. Most
of them have been around with the organization for quite
a long time, most are from Worcester, understand the needs
and the neighborhoods. But I think, you know, our biggest
(10:17):
issue is funding. You know, nothing is fully funded, and
these are programs that typically you know, probably initially we're
all kind of federally funded at one point, and that
has shrunk and gone away, and even the state funding,
which is great, has has diminished. So we're doing a
lot of private fundraising, and it is that is the
(10:40):
biggest part of my job, is really kind of making
sure that we have some visibility and that we're doing
everything we can to kind of shore up programs like
like our youth program, where we don't want to have
high fees, you know, we want to make it really
accessible to the people who need it. So that is
that I lean on everybody. And I would say that
(11:03):
in Worcester, people know each other. We have close partnership
with the City of Worcester, the other nonprofit organizations are
kind of in conversation. There is a there is a
feeling of sharing that. But we're all in a difficult boat,
especially this year.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
Yeah, and one thing that you know they're always I
admire is like the staff here.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
We all work together.
Speaker 4 (11:27):
We don't pull each other and with all you're better
than you do my work. No, we all we have
like an emergency, like we have families something like that,
we all call each other, We all kind of go together.
We kind of support each other. It's not like we
you know, say oh no, I don't go there, I
don't go No. We support each other. So that's one
thing about it. You know, be working for put in.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
The House, well, you all are providing all these great services,
but you also, I mean, especially working with the kids,
you've got to keep them busy, right, You've got to
keep them entertained, You've got to keep them busy. And
I know you've put on great events in the past.
What is coming down the pike.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Well, we're gearing up for summer programs, which are you know,
it's like a camp for you know, kindergarten through sixth grade,
and then we also have teen programs that are free
summer nights and those are through United Way and the
state funds a little bit of that too and provides
at different youth serving organizations during the summer evenings free
(12:25):
activities for teens which are really important. And we also
have which is really fun. Usually it's a late Friday
in August. I think it's going to be August twenty first.
This year we have our annual block party. And this
was a tradition that decades ago had been going on
and had I don't know when it had tapered off
over ten years ago, maybe more than that, and we
(12:48):
brought it back two years ago and it was such
a success. We had barbers from the community who kind
of came and gave haircuts. We had backpacks, we had
homemade and panadilla and limbers and okay, we had people
like with games and toys for the kids. We blocked
off the street. It's just an amazing event for the community.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
Actually book bags for these kids when they're ready to
go to school.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Right, So we was a big distribution last year.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Yeah, I'm looking at the photos on your website right now.
It looks like a lot of people love to come
to this and you've got a bounce house. I want
to go to a bounce house that looks like someone
you know.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
We had all kinds of We had great like home
Depot did all these you know workshops with the kids
to build things. They loved it. It was really fun.
It was nice to see all the families out too.
And I think last year we were really worried about
who's going to come if people are afraid to go out,
and people came, it was it was a good time.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
How can people sponsor that event or how can people
get you the support you need besides showing up with
like a cartoon bag full of cash, which I'm sure
would be helpful.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Anyways, We so we do rely on sponsorships for this
and then helps our youth and our social service programs
throughout the year. So sponsorships are super important. Donations of
any sort are great. We also have groups that will
donate backpacks, will donate food for the food pantry. Diapers
are a huge issue. If you know somebody a barber
(14:19):
who's willing to do haircuts, we look for donations of
in kind that way. So there's just millions of ways
to get involved, and through our website you could reach
me my emails on there and our director of development
is Jodie Briggs Picket. Any ideas people have, we're open
(14:39):
to them, so that we really we do need the
community support and we really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Yeah, and Holsophena volunteers I'm sure always helpful as well.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
Yes, actually, well said it's a big role here in
Friendly House, because when you do so many families for
a foot pantry, did you help some the families in
the food pantry? This a lot of lifting, there's a
lot of boxes that need to be break these a
lot of bags that need to be moving from here
and there. So I mean, volunteers always is being appreciated.
(15:11):
And another thing that want to mention is like in
November we do this thanks Giving food distribution. We do
like this past some year we did over a thousand
families that we was able to provide ninety so you.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Know there's a lot of turkey.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
There are a lot of.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
Three days distribution, so in those three days plus the
prepared preparation is like a lot of a lot of volunteers.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
That we always Yeah, we probably have over one hundred
volunteers in the week before and during that distribution. It's
a huge event and really the whole city is helping us.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
I think the.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Other thing that I want to just mention that's coming
up though, is and this is really important. This is
another way people can help us and particularly help the
two food pantries that we have as we have a
food drive that's coming up. We're doing it with Market
thirty two and we do it because people are doing
their food shopping for their cookouts on the fourth and
(16:11):
people have been really generous. But we've also just we
need to do this several times a year now because
the need has really spiked.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
That would be great.
Speaker 4 (16:20):
We do the toys were prepared with we assist families
with the toys. Plus we do like an event here
in this building that we actually help families and children.
They come to the programs and in the neighborhood children
we provide toys to them.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Of a holidays extravaganza where we have you know, Santa
and music and cocoa cookies, and then children kind of
move through and go to one of the classrooms upstairs
that's to their age and choose a toy out of
mountains of toys to take home. And that's something that
we do just for the community. It's not no one
(16:58):
has to be a program participant or one of our
clients in any way.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
And we see always a lot of people friend the house.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
There's like a line out the door for two hours
that day, but it's pretty joyful. And then we also
use volunteers at that time, our elves that are wrapping
and unwrapping, and.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Sure, there's always something that has to be done. And
you ladies are just you are on top of all
of this. I'm grateful that you have a support system
behind you to make it happen. But think of all
the families you've been able to touch through your time
over at family House, especially you you've been there a
few decades now, what does that mean to you.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
That's a good question, because I want to continue to
doing it. I don't know for how long. You know,
she's getting there.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Where I go in Worcester with ho Afena and there's people.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Like, sure, she's not anywhere local celebrity.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Really important person who has touched so many families lives
in the city of Worcester. I just it just needs
to be set.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
I'm sorry to start to no, That's that's why I
like I say, you know, I love friendly house.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
I been here for like I said, I don't know
more than thirty six, thirty seven years then and I'm
being touched by many families, many, many, many families that
have an idea. Families they come from nothing and the
end now with you know, a job, and then then
now we're house, they're buying, you know. So it's that's
(18:25):
what really got me when they I see families that
come here for you know, three years ago, five years ago,
and now they have their own house, their own business.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
So that's where they keep me going.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
And they contribute back, they give back to the work
you're doing.
Speaker 4 (18:40):
You know, this is a this is funny because we
have some stuff here. They came here when there was
a child, and they came here when there was a teenager,
and now they're being staff and then it's being you know,
working in the program, so they're they're very calicate.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
Is rewarded seeing those coming.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Back we've had you know this, you know, people in
city government have kind of come through and grown up
and played basketball and then we're hired in the summers
and then they've gone on to great things. So it's
a really it's a wonderful feeling to see that you.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Are clearly a mainstay in the city. And I just
love to hear about this because I think that every
neighborhood needs a place like a Friendly House. And let's
talk about how we can get you this support for
another one hundred years. And right now, Holsaphina, I want
to start with you. You obviously are like right there in
front of the food pantry. You know what you need?
What do you need the most of the food pantry
right now that people can bring.
Speaker 4 (19:31):
And then many things the people could bring, I mean
different ways they could help.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
One other thing is financially.
Speaker 4 (19:37):
The other one is they could do a supermarket gift
gift card or why my gift card or Target gift card,
and they could bring food. They could bring ken goods,
they could bring meat, the suspensive for many families to
you know, to give meat. So they're they're different way. Diapers,
maybe whites, I mean anything they'd be able to give
(19:59):
to families, their families school appreciate.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
It, Okay. And then Trish, how can people give to
Friendly House overall and contribute or volunteer? How can they
go through that process?
Speaker 2 (20:09):
I think it's really easy. You can kind of come
connect with any of us or go through the website.
We have a special form and kind of find out
what is interesting. Because we are served by over two
hundred folks a year at least. I think that's a
pretty conservative estimate because we have people who kind of
come in groups once a year or that they're here
(20:30):
every three days a week, you know, you know, year
year round. So it's really about what is meaningful to them.
We have such a range of programs and such a
big need, but I would say that you know, the
ones that are most underfunded are social services and youth
and those are the two programs that have been in
(20:50):
continuous work since nineteen twenty. So it's a it's a
it's an important need that that people can help with,
and the biggest one is unrestricted funding. But we also
are always looking at grants and things that are kind
of special, like we do an HBCU historically Black Colleges
(21:13):
and University's tour. We've got about sixteen kids on that
right now. They're down in the DC area, you know,
the experience of a lifetime and they have to be
income eligible, but it is free for them and for
a lot of them I haven't really been far out
of Worcester before being in d C and kind of
(21:34):
seeing the sites, and our staff really take care to
make it just as impactful as possible, and they get
to go see Congress and in prior years. I don't
know about this Yere, but Congressman McGovern has taken them
underneath the tunnels.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
Cool.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
It's just been such a phenomenal trip. And so there's
so many little pieces to the work that we do
that if our interest in people want to make a
grant or a donation that way, that's something that we
we'd love.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
To talk about.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Website, phone number, social media, where can people find you?
Speaker 2 (22:09):
Website is www Friendly HOUSEMA and FRIENDLYHOUSEMA dot org is
also the handle for Instagram and Facebook. And I think
that LinkedIn is actually Friendly House Mass Wooster.
Speaker 3 (22:24):
Okay, just because there.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Is a Friendly House that does entirely different services out
in California.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
Oh wow, Okay, yep, don't want to confuse the test
FRIENDLYHOUSEMA dot org. You're on social media, ladies. Thank you
so much for the time and all the work you're
doing for the kids and for the families around Wooster
really means a lot, and thank you for your time
on the show.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
Today, Nicole, thank you for inviting us.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
Have a safe and healthy weekend. Please join us again
next week for another edition of the show. I'm Nicole
Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend.
Each week right here we come together and talk about
all the topics important to you and the place where
you live. Thanks for tuning in again this week. I'm
Nicole Davis. Over the decades, through wars, recessions, the passing
of several generations, even when back in the nineteen twenties
it started as just a small three room settlement house,
(00:29):
Friendly House in Wooster has had so much to offer
those in need in many ways. Now that need is
greater than it's ever been. When I came across Friendly
House recently, I knew I wanted to get the word
out about it. So let's do it right now here
on the show. With us, we have executive director Trish Appert.
Joseevina Valez is the social services program director as well
at Friendly House. Thank you both for being here, and Trisha,
(00:51):
I want to start about that storied history what I
was just talking about. Tell us a little bit more
about what got us to where Friendly House is today.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Friendly House is a really long and wonderful history in Worcester.
We were founded in nineteen twenty as a settlement house
and so that model was really of social work, of
being kind of grounded in a residential community and responding
to needs. And so you know, our mission has not
changed in one hundred and six years, and a lot
(01:20):
of the work programs have grown, but a lot of
that core work of anti poverty work and of working
with poor and immigrant households really holds true today. You know,
Worcester has about twenty five percent of its population is
foreign born.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Wow, so we're.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Really still serving it's a gateway city. We're just kind
of constantly serving new arrivals and new Americans. And Josephinda
does a lot of that work.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Yeah, Hosephina, tell us a little bit about the families
you work with every day and what it's like in
your job to navigate what the families need, because I'm
sure those needs are ever changing.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Yes, that's right.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
My job here is like overseas, so see and work
with families and different different situations, different problems, different nationality.
We actually we run so many problems here in Friendly House.
But my two problems that we run is the social
service against the food paintry. Every day we see between
(02:25):
forty to sixty people for different type of services especial immigration,
and housing homeless, you name it, many many other services
and then the food paantry we do like three days
food country here and Wall Street and we see many
families to and like I could give you the statistics
(02:46):
just for last month, we saw over seven hundred families
that came for food. Last month we saw close to
almost a hundred, close to nine hundred families they came
for social service. That does mean everything. So we are
very busy, very very busy every day. It's true. I
mean we see like you mentioned, we see a lot
(03:08):
of families from different places, different nationality, with different issues
and the population is growing every day. So he int
we actually in one of the agencies. They provide many
services they be able to do don't compare to other
other services.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
And Safina has been here for over three decades and
it's very humble about the work that she does and
how important she is to the city of Worcester. But
she leaves a team of seven that are all at
minimum bilingual, and so there are five languages roughly that
are spoken among her staff. And you know, her program
(03:48):
social services is at two different sites and really is
almost this front door of folks coming in for anybody
can come in and ask for things, and it ranges
for verbal translations and notary work and applying for benefits
food obviously, diapers, formula. That kind of basic needs. Two
(04:12):
more kind of what they call intensive case management, and
that could be eviction prevention, you know, housing, counseling, immigration,
basic immigration work, and that is you know, it's when
people are in crisis. To have her staff speak to
them in their language, it goes such.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
A long way.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Well, and not to mention, I think a lot of
people are in crisis these days that had maybe not
been even just a few months ago. The cost of
everything is going up. It's way more expensive to get
gas alone, but the cost of food at the supermarket.
Housing prices are through the roof. In Massachusetts, O Sophia,
tell me a little bit about what you're seeing in
your part of the state here when it comes to
(04:53):
this cost of living crisis.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
We work with many, many families in different needs. Would
they when would the I think that we see daily
is some family that's struggling with pay the rent. We
actually and the city we don't have that many programs.
With only a few programs they be able to assist
families with back rent or evictions, so for moving into
(05:15):
a new apartment. But I mean that's something that we
see every day every day. I mean even not just
only for families and wis theable family they're coming from,
you know, Boston or Springfield or any other series. They're
trying to say, oh, wis there is more the less
expensive than the town where I be living Now, I'm
looking for an apartment, be honest with you.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
Every day my.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
Staff we work on we look at the apartments to
see what is the less expensive apartment. So we have
a lested idea or listing for families and nothing, nothing
that we could find under under affordable.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Like maybe twelve hundred, fourteen hundred.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Everything is like you were two thousand, twenty five hundred,
twenty four hundred. So that's one of the things that
we see every day. A lot less families. There are
homeless families. They cannot they don't they don't collocate double
with all the families and families they kind of like
they moving from another countries or another states. Now, with
(06:14):
the situation about immigrations, a lot of families trying to
move away from where is the problem is big big issues.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
I mean they are you know, they're afraid.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
You know, example, people they're coming from a Los Angelest,
people that coming from Chicago, people come from New York.
They're afraid to stay in those in those states, so
they're trying to move into Wister thinking is better than
where they're living now. So when they're coming to to
our doors, it's like a family.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
They don't have nothing. I mean, they leave everything.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Behind and so we're kind of standing from zero tolcate
you know, VK then or trying to give their song
as system and refer them to where it's maybe it's
possibility that they could have some assistant.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
One of the nice things about Friendly House having you know,
fifteen programs across all these locations is that Josafina has
kind of others to work with a kind of across
programs and we we have we're a shelter provider for
the States. So for emergency family hou's it a shelter,
I should say, the social services, the food pantry works
(07:19):
very closely, and we have we have two other programs,
a child Meals program, which is kind of like a
quiet program that people cook the meals individually, you know,
packaged for children and then they get shipped off across
the city of Wecester. It's a different youth serving organization.
So it's a really it's a really wonderful US Dade
(07:39):
kind of program. And then we have our youth programs
and that I think, you know, when we have folks
who are in shelter and then we have we can
put them into after school care, get them connected, and
Hoosafena may be working with parents on budgeting or housing issues,
kind of assembling that, you know, that kind of a
collection of things that are going to help ameliorate, especially
(08:02):
when rents are so high and they need food. I mean,
that's where the budget gets really squeezed.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Yeah, so yeah, I do have a follow up on that,
but I did want to ask you really quickly, ho Safina.
Are you seeing fewer people who need the assistance come
out to get it because they're concerned about immigration problems?
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Yes, I just want to say something here. I don't know.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
I mean, we, my guy could say, probably be doing
like a door, were closing the front door to kat
you know, to protect their families that come. So that's
one thing that we have to change. We change that day.
Now we open the door for the client. We don't
leave the door open because you know, we afraid who
knows who's going to come to the door the eyes
(08:46):
or who knows who's the family they're come in for
the services. They are afraid and not to come because they
afraid the ice is going to you know, come here,
and maybe maybe the family could have papers, but maybe
when the ice come, the ice don't iple papers us.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
So and thens the that question. Yes, we see, we
see more.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
We do across other programs as well, particularly Office of
New Americans that we have. It sees people who won't
come to a distribution center that is really for them
and kind of has you know, baby kits and diapers
and food and so forth, and would prefer to have that,
(09:25):
uh you know, volunteers get.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Them delivered to their homes.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
It's a real issue and it's as Ho Safina was saying,
it's not just people who are undocumented.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
People who are.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
And who are kind of moving through the right steps
and everything are really terrified because obviously mistakes have been
made and it's just really awful.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Now, Trisha, you're providing so many of these services over
at Friendly House. How are you getting support to make
it happen? Who do you lean on to make this
all work?
Speaker 3 (09:54):
I have right here.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Obviously we go anywhere without her, But I lean on
a lot of people, I think the truth is, and
I lean on our program directors are really incredible. Most
of them have been around with the organization for quite
a long time, most are from Worcester, understand the needs
and the neighborhoods. But I think, you know, our biggest
(10:17):
issue is funding. You know, nothing is fully funded, and
these are programs that typically you know, probably initially we're
all kind of federally funded at one point, and that
has shrunk and gone away, and even the state funding,
which is great, has has diminished. So we're doing a
lot of private fundraising, and it is that is the
(10:40):
biggest part of my job, is really kind of making
sure that we have some visibility and that we're doing
everything we can to kind of shore up programs like
like our youth program, where we don't want to have
high fees, you know, we want to make it really
accessible to the people who need it. So that is
that I lean on everybody. And I would say that
(11:03):
in Worcester, people know each other. We have close partnership
with the City of Worcester, the other nonprofit organizations are
kind of in conversation. There is a there is a
feeling of sharing that. But we're all in a difficult boat,
especially this year.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
Yeah, and one thing that you know they're always I
admire is like the staff here.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
We all work together.
Speaker 4 (11:27):
We don't pull each other and with all you're better
than you do my work. No, we all we have
like an emergency, like we have families something like that,
we all call each other, We all kind of go together.
We kind of support each other. It's not like we
you know, say oh no, I don't go there, I
don't go No. We support each other. So that's one
thing about it. You know, be working for put in.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
The House, well, you all are providing all these great services,
but you also, I mean, especially working with the kids,
you've got to keep them busy, right, You've got to
keep them entertained, You've got to keep them busy. And
I know you've put on great events in the past.
What is coming down the pike.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Well, we're gearing up for summer programs, which are you know,
it's like a camp for you know, kindergarten through sixth grade,
and then we also have teen programs that are free
summer nights and those are through United Way and the
state funds a little bit of that too and provides
at different youth serving organizations during the summer evenings free
(12:25):
activities for teens which are really important. And we also
have which is really fun. Usually it's a late Friday
in August. I think it's going to be August twenty first.
This year we have our annual block party. And this
was a tradition that decades ago had been going on
and had I don't know when it had tapered off
over ten years ago, maybe more than that, and we
(12:48):
brought it back two years ago and it was such
a success. We had barbers from the community who kind
of came and gave haircuts. We had backpacks, we had
homemade and panadilla and limbers and okay, we had people
like with games and toys for the kids. We blocked
off the street. It's just an amazing event for the community.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
Actually book bags for these kids when they're ready to
go to school.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Right, So we was a big distribution last year.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Yeah, I'm looking at the photos on your website right now.
It looks like a lot of people love to come
to this and you've got a bounce house. I want
to go to a bounce house that looks like someone
you know.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
We had all kinds of We had great like home
Depot did all these you know workshops with the kids
to build things. They loved it. It was really fun.
It was nice to see all the families out too.
And I think last year we were really worried about
who's going to come if people are afraid to go out,
and people came, it was it was a good time.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
How can people sponsor that event or how can people
get you the support you need besides showing up with
like a cartoon bag full of cash, which I'm sure
would be helpful.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Anyways, We so we do rely on sponsorships for this
and then helps our youth and our social service programs
throughout the year. So sponsorships are super important. Donations of
any sort are great. We also have groups that will
donate backpacks, will donate food for the food pantry. Diapers
are a huge issue. If you know somebody a barber
(14:19):
who's willing to do haircuts, we look for donations of
in kind that way. So there's just millions of ways
to get involved, and through our website you could reach
me my emails on there and our director of development
is Jodie Briggs Picket. Any ideas people have, we're open
(14:39):
to them, so that we really we do need the
community support and we really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Yeah, and Holsophena volunteers I'm sure always helpful as well.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
Yes, actually, well said it's a big role here in
Friendly House, because when you do so many families for
a foot pantry, did you help some the families in
the food pantry? This a lot of lifting, there's a
lot of boxes that need to be break these a
lot of bags that need to be moving from here
and there. So I mean, volunteers always is being appreciated.
(15:11):
And another thing that want to mention is like in
November we do this thanks Giving food distribution. We do
like this past some year we did over a thousand
families that we was able to provide ninety so you.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Know there's a lot of turkey.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
There are a lot of.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
Three days distribution, so in those three days plus the
prepared preparation is like a lot of a lot of volunteers.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
That we always Yeah, we probably have over one hundred
volunteers in the week before and during that distribution. It's
a huge event and really the whole city is helping us.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
I think the.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Other thing that I want to just mention that's coming
up though, is and this is really important. This is
another way people can help us and particularly help the
two food pantries that we have as we have a
food drive that's coming up. We're doing it with Market
thirty two and we do it because people are doing
their food shopping for their cookouts on the fourth and
(16:11):
people have been really generous. But we've also just we
need to do this several times a year now because
the need has really spiked.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
That would be great.
Speaker 4 (16:20):
We do the toys were prepared with we assist families
with the toys. Plus we do like an event here
in this building that we actually help families and children.
They come to the programs and in the neighborhood children
we provide toys to them.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Of a holidays extravaganza where we have you know, Santa
and music and cocoa cookies, and then children kind of
move through and go to one of the classrooms upstairs
that's to their age and choose a toy out of
mountains of toys to take home. And that's something that
we do just for the community. It's not no one
(16:58):
has to be a program participant or one of our
clients in any way.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
And we see always a lot of people friend the house.
Speaker 2 (17:07):
There's like a line out the door for two hours
that day, but it's pretty joyful. And then we also
use volunteers at that time, our elves that are wrapping
and unwrapping, and.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Sure, there's always something that has to be done. And
you ladies are just you are on top of all
of this. I'm grateful that you have a support system
behind you to make it happen. But think of all
the families you've been able to touch through your time
over at family House, especially you you've been there a
few decades now, what does that mean to you.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
That's a good question, because I want to continue to
doing it. I don't know for how long. You know,
she's getting there.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Where I go in Worcester with ho Afena and there's people.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Like, sure, she's not anywhere local celebrity.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Really important person who has touched so many families lives
in the city of Worcester. I just it just needs
to be set.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
I'm sorry to start to no, That's that's why I
like I say, you know, I love friendly house.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
I been here for like I said, I don't know
more than thirty six, thirty seven years then and I'm
being touched by many families, many, many, many families that
have an idea. Families they come from nothing and the
end now with you know, a job, and then then
now we're house, they're buying, you know. So it's that's
(18:25):
what really got me when they I see families that
come here for you know, three years ago, five years ago,
and now they have their own house, their own business.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
So that's where they keep me going.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
And they contribute back, they give back to the work
you're doing.
Speaker 4 (18:40):
You know, this is a this is funny because we
have some stuff here. They came here when there was
a child, and they came here when there was a teenager,
and now they're being staff and then it's being you know,
working in the program, so they're they're very calicate.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
Is rewarded seeing those coming.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
Back we've had you know this, you know, people in
city government have kind of come through and grown up
and played basketball and then we're hired in the summers
and then they've gone on to great things. So it's
a really it's a wonderful feeling to see that you.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Are clearly a mainstay in the city. And I just
love to hear about this because I think that every
neighborhood needs a place like a Friendly House. And let's
talk about how we can get you this support for
another one hundred years. And right now, Holsaphina, I want
to start with you. You obviously are like right there in
front of the food pantry. You know what you need?
What do you need the most of the food pantry
right now that people can bring.
Speaker 4 (19:31):
And then many things the people could bring, I mean
different ways they could help.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
One other thing is financially.
Speaker 4 (19:37):
The other one is they could do a supermarket gift
gift card or why my gift card or Target gift card,
and they could bring food. They could bring ken goods,
they could bring meat, the suspensive for many families to
you know, to give meat. So they're they're different way. Diapers,
maybe whites, I mean anything they'd be able to give
(19:59):
to families, their families school appreciate.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
It, Okay. And then Trish, how can people give to
Friendly House overall and contribute or volunteer? How can they
go through that process?
Speaker 2 (20:09):
I think it's really easy. You can kind of come
connect with any of us or go through the website.
We have a special form and kind of find out
what is interesting. Because we are served by over two
hundred folks a year at least. I think that's a
pretty conservative estimate because we have people who kind of
come in groups once a year or that they're here
(20:30):
every three days a week, you know, you know, year
year round. So it's really about what is meaningful to them.
We have such a range of programs and such a
big need, but I would say that you know, the
ones that are most underfunded are social services and youth
and those are the two programs that have been in
(20:50):
continuous work since nineteen twenty. So it's a it's a
it's an important need that that people can help with,
and the biggest one is unrestricted funding. But we also
are always looking at grants and things that are kind
of special, like we do an HBCU historically Black Colleges
(21:13):
and University's tour. We've got about sixteen kids on that
right now. They're down in the DC area, you know,
the experience of a lifetime and they have to be
income eligible, but it is free for them and for
a lot of them I haven't really been far out
of Worcester before being in d C and kind of
(21:34):
seeing the sites, and our staff really take care to
make it just as impactful as possible, and they get
to go see Congress and in prior years. I don't
know about this Yere, but Congressman McGovern has taken them
underneath the tunnels.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
Cool.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
It's just been such a phenomenal trip. And so there's
so many little pieces to the work that we do
that if our interest in people want to make a
grant or a donation that way, that's something that we
we'd love.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
To talk about.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Website, phone number, social media, where can people find you?
Speaker 2 (22:09):
Website is www Friendly HOUSEMA and FRIENDLYHOUSEMA dot org is
also the handle for Instagram and Facebook. And I think
that LinkedIn is actually Friendly House Mass Wooster.
Speaker 3 (22:24):
Okay, just because there.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Is a Friendly House that does entirely different services out
in California.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
Oh wow, Okay, yep, don't want to confuse the test
FRIENDLYHOUSEMA dot org. You're on social media, ladies. Thank you
so much for the time and all the work you're
doing for the kids and for the families around Wooster
really means a lot, and thank you for your time
on the show.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
Today, Nicole, thank you for inviting us.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
Have a safe and healthy weekend. Please join us again
next week for another edition of the show. I'm Nicole
Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio
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