Our Mission and History

Centro Latino de Chelsea was created through a unique and historic community planning effort that brought together a diverse group of community leaders and organizations. The number of Latinos in Chelsea had increased over 200% between 1970 and 1980, according to the US Census. Various population reports were predicting that the trend would continue and the Latino population would more than double by the next decennial count. Latino leaders and city officials in the mid-80s began discussing how to better meet the needs of this fast growing constituency.

In April 1988, a report entitled "The Hispanic Community of Chelsea: Discussion of its Organizational Direction" was published by Nelson Merced of Levine Associates. The report was commissioned and funded by the City of Chelsea's Gateway Cities Program, managed by North Suffolk Mental Health Association, and coordinated as part of the Chelsea Human Services Collaborative's "Five Year Human Services Plan". The report made the following primary recommendation:

"Develop an Hispanic community based and controlled multi-service agency to provide a range of services and to provide facilities for community meetings and activities. This organization should begin small and should expand as it builds its organizational and service delivery capacity."

In August 1988, a group of about 35 Latino community leaders, city officials, and local organizations embarked on a planning process for the development of the new agency. A final report was issued in February 1989, which detailed an organizational plan and fundraising strategy. The new agency was incorporated as "Centro Hispano de Chelsea" in March 1989, and began operating in July 1989 under the auspices of the Collaborative.

During its first five years, Centro Hispano established itself as a Latino family and immigrant support organization, mainly providing family advocacy services. The agency opened its own office space and began introducing new services to address education and community health issues. Over the next five years, Centro enlarged its staff, extended its outreach to surrounding communities, and began developing strong community partnerships to help expand its services.

By 1999, the organization had progressed significantly, expanding its menu of services to more specifically and directly meet the needs of its constituency. The agency moved into a more accessible and centrally located office building and officially changed its name to Centro Latino de Chelsea, Inc. The agency was distinguishing itself as a leading service provider for community health, education, citizenship, and family support services.

Centro Latino continues to hone its focus on developing quality program models. The agency's main objective has been to deliver services that are culturally competent and relevant to immigrants and low-income families in the Greater Boston area. Specifically, service that help them overcome barriers to sustainable employment, successfully integrate into their new communities, learn about community resources, and gain the communication skills to access those resources in order to advocate for themselves and their children.

Today, Centro Latino de Chelsea is one of the largest and most successful Latino-directed human-service organizations in the state of Massachusetts, and is well established as a bilingual, bicultural community education and support center. Most importantly, as envisioned by its founding members, Centro Latino has thrived as a Latino-directed and Latino-focused organization that contributes to the betterment and positive development of the entire community.