“A settlement aims to get things done for a given neighborhood. It proposes to be the guardian of that neighborhood’s interests, and through identification of the interests of the settlement group with local interests, it forms a steadying and permanent element in a community which is more or less wavering and influx.”
Continue Reading »“Since 1895, Union Settlement has served the people of East Harlem. We believe the key to our endurance lies in our adaptability. East Harlem has long been a portal community whose population shifts with each new trend in immigration…”
Continue Reading »Written by John E. Hansan, Ph.D. “The Hudson Guild is a community-based social services organization rooted in and primarily focused on the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City.”
Continue Reading »John Lovejoy Elliot (December 2, 1868—April 12, 1942): Founder of Hudson Guild Settlement House and Ethical Culture Society Leader. John Lovejoy Elliot was born in Princeton, Illinois, the son of Isaac Elliot and Elizabeth (nee Denham) Lovejoy. He attended Cornell University, where he was elected as class president. In 1889 he attended an event…
Continue Reading »Medicaid (Title XIX of the Social Security Act) was created with little debate in 1965. Its purpose was to provide federal financial assistance (FFP) to states in providing health care for public welfare recipients. Similar to other state-federal public welfare program, states had to choose whether or not to participate in the Medicaid program.
Continue Reading »Written by John E. Hansan, Ph.D. “The house is designed to stand for the single idea of resident study and work in the neighborhood where it may be located. . . . The whole aim and motive is religious, but the method is educational rather than evangelistic. A second, though hardly secondary, object….will be to create a center, for those within reach, of social study, discussion, and organization.”
Continue Reading »Robert Archey Woods (December 9, 1865—February 18, 1925) — Settlement House Pioneer, Founder of South End House the First Settlement in Boston, Social Reformer, Author and Educator Introduction: Robert A. Woods was born in Pittsburgh, PA., on Dec. 9, 1865, the fourth of five children in a family of Scottish-Irish immigrants. His father, Robert, was…
Continue Reading »Southern segregation policies were granted legitimacy by the Supreme Court’s “separate but equal” ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson. The alternatives for former slaves were limited. They could work for white farmers as tenants or sharecroppers, barely a step above slavery, or they could leave the South. Many opted to migrate and moved north to find a better life. Two people stepped forward at this time to provide leadership and help build an organization dedicated to empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream – one Negro, one white; one man, one woman – and together, they founded the National Urban League.
Continue Reading »Ballington Booth (July 28, 1857 – October 5, 1940) – Evangelist, Social Welfare Advocate and Co-Founder of Volunteers of America NOTE: This entry is about the life and contributions of Ballington Booth, a co-founder of Volunteers of America. It was excerpted from the booklet “Maud and Ballington Booth: The Founding of Volunteers of America –…
Continue Reading »This entry is about the Volunteers of America. It was excerpted from the booklet “Maud and Ballington Booth: The Founding of Volunteers of America – The Seeds of Change 1890 – 1935” authored by Anne Nixon and produced by The Human Spirit Initiative.
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