Irvington residents working to help hurricane and earthquake disaster survivors

IRVINGTON, NJ — Irvington residents Destin Nicholas and FamiCare founder Thecy Faustin are pitching in to help the survivors of the recent hurricanes that impacted Haiti, Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean and southern United States.

“I know that, on Saturday, Oct. 14, there is going to be a fundraiser at Sacred Heart Church at 537 Grove St., at about 7 p.m.,” said Nicholas on Tuesday, Sept. 26. “The group holding the event is called ALAD, an association from the northern part of Haiti. It’s a French acronym for Alliance Pour L’avancement de Desdunes.”

Nicholas is known in town for his accounting and finance business, as well as his charitable and civic activities, including his pre-Thanksgiving Food Giveaway on Nov. 19, 2016.

“I’m one of the guest speakers for that night on Oct. 14,” said Nicholas. “If there are people in need here in America or back home in Haiti, then we have to do everything that we can to help them. I hope a lot of people come out to help the people of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Dominica and all parts of the Caribbean that were hit hard by the hurricanes. We should help out in Mexico, Houston and Florida, too.”

FamiCare in a nonprofit charitable organization that began as part of Faustin’s effort to bridge the language and culture gaps faced by Haitian immigrants to the United States. In the mid- to late-1990s, the organization did advocacy and outreach work, serving as liaisons for Haitians who needed access to the basic services.

As time has progressed and as incidents occurred, such as the earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010 and Hurricane Tomas that hit that same year, FamiCare has grown to include “reach back” charitable outings to the island nation.

“Yes, we are continuously doing things,” said Faustin on Tuesday, Sept. 26. “We do have a connection in Haiti, since the earthquake (was) where we network with other organizations that are trying to help. We also recently traveled to Haiti with (Newark) Mayor Ras Baraka, who wanted to show Americans and youths in particular that, as bad and challenging as things in their lives might seem, there are always places where people are struggling to deal with daily survival. Everything is relative.”

But Faustin said there is nothing ambiguous about helping out people in need, when the means and opportunity are available.

“When we did it the last time with Hurricane Matthew, people kept bringing us a bunch of clothes. We don’t need that,” said Faustin. “We’re focusing on the children now, because they are the ones that suffer the most, whenever disasters like this hit. … Basically, we’re just collecting shoes and clothing for children and diapers and items for children.”

To learn more about FamiCare, call 973-372-2273 or visit the organization’s new home at 50 Union Ave. on the eighth floor.

  Destin Nicholas, Thecy Faustin