This Monday saw the inauguration of a new office for the Immigrant Family Services Institute in the state of Massachusetts.
Located in the town of Malden, north of Boston, this new office will enable IFSI to extend its services to residents of other communities in the state of Massachusetts.
Thanks to this initiative, newly-arrived immigrants in the towns of Malden, Medford, Everett, Saugus and elsewhere will no longer have to travel to the central office in the Mattapan district in the heart of Boston.
The expansion is also intended to relieve congestion at IFSI’s central office, which receives hundreds of immigrants every day, according to IFSI Executive Director Dr. Géralde Gabeau.
The inaugural ceremony was attended by the mayor of Malden and community leaders, who welcomed the institute’s decision to extend its services to residents of other Massachusetts towns and neighborhoods.
In her speech, IFSI’s director stressed the need to provide better care for the large numbers of immigrants arriving in Massachusetts every day. IFSI is working closely with state and local authorities to better coordinate support for immigrants,” enthused Dr. Géralde Gabeau.
Barely inaugurated, this new center is already operational and staffed by highly qualified professionals whose sole objective is to serve their community,” said IFSI’s number two, Franklin Dalembert, who also thanked community leaders for their commitment to serving the Haitian community in Massachusetts.
Malden Mayor Gary Christenson, who attended the ceremony, praised the ingenuity of IFSI’s leaders in taking the initiative to create this center to better serve immigrants. This is a task that should be taken on by the government,” he said.
Pastors Guival Mercédat and Ronald Pierre, from the towns of Everett and Medford respectively, also took part in the ceremony.
Massachusetts is one of the states with the most immigrants in the United States. It is also one of the preferred destinations for Haitian immigrants newly arrived in the United States.