I have been trying to be helpful to the 41 Haitian families now living in Greenfield, since the second week of June when they arrived. I wanted to go beyond donations of clothes and other necessities. I contacted the mayor’s office, and was told the Health Department was in charge. There I learned that ServiceNet had the contract to provide services. I contacted ServiceNet, but despite my repeated efforts I have not been able to talk to them or have any substantial email contact for weeks.

Things I have learned: The families did not appear to fully understand that SNAP benefits get renewed monthly. It also appears they did not understand that it is likely the money on the card will run out before the renewal date. They were apparently not told about the existence of the Community Action Food Pantry on Main Street. When I directed one family there, the first week of July, I learned that no other Haitian immigrant family had yet signed up. I learned that Community Action no longer provides transportation to their Head Start location in Turners Falls.

I learned that the Greenfield Public Schools preschool programs are now full, as they often are, and have a waitlist. I learned from an immigrant/refugee family service in Mattapan that Haitians have had to wait for as much as a year to gain work permits, while immigrants/refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine, have gotten permits within weeks or months. (Please contact the Biden administration to urge them to remedy this.) I learned that the Center for New Americans, who can help apply for Temporary Protected Status, has just recently met with the families to begin that process. I learned that the Literacy Project is closed until August.

Things I would like to know: When the commonwealth sent the families to Greenfield, and supplied a contract to provide services, did the funds go to the city of Greenfield, or directly to ServiceNet? What services did the commonwealth expect this money would cover? Is there money to fund a full-time case manager fluent in Haitian Creole? Is there money for summer programming for the children? Is there money for the Greenfield public schools to add English language learning programming, and additional spots in classrooms? Is there money to provide English language learning for adults as soon as possible? Is there support to move adults as quickly as possible through the paperwork needed to acquire work permits? Is there money to solve the intractable problem of housing? I will continue to seek these answers. Perhaps our enterprising Recorder reporters would like to jump in to add to current reporting.

ServiceNet apparently has not, so far, created a way for citizen volunteers like myself to be helpful beyond material donations. I understand it is important to make sure that the volunteers and the families are safe and that no one tries to exploit the situation in any way. But we have 41 families with children, each family living in one or two motel rooms with tiny microwaves and dorm size refrigerators, with no meaningful contact with people who live here, no organized way to learn the language, and no organized activities for the children.

We can do better! I’m sure we could find 41 individuals or families who live here who would go through CORI checks and sign up to be matched with a Haitian family. This way, the matched families could enjoy the Green River Swimming area, the Thursday night Coop Concerts, our wonderful new library (where people can find Haitian Creole websites) and so many other wonderful activities we enjoy here, all while providing conversational English language learning. Google has a translate feature, and there are other aids to communication.

I want to be clear, I do not mean to criticize ServiceNet, the mayor’s office, or the school district. I am concerned for the well-being of the immigrant/refugee families, and I believe we can do better. I eagerly await opportunities to help us all to be a more helpful and welcoming community.

Susanae Glovacki lives in Greenfield.

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