Immigrant liaison hired through Charleroi Neighborhood program
Paul Paterra/Observer-Reporter
Getro Bernabe is the immigrant liaison for the Charleroi Neighborhood Partnership Program.
Paul Paterra/Observer-Reporter
Getro Bernabe, immigrant liaison for the Charleroi Neighborhood Partnership Program, discusses his new role.
Paul Paterra/Observer-Reporter
Getro Bernabe was presented as the immigrant liaison for the Charleroi Neighborhood Partnership Program. Those at last week’s introduction are, from left, Leanna Spada, executive director for the Mon Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce; Bernabe; Adele Hopkins, president of the Greater Charleroi Community Development Corp., and Jamie Colecchi, CEO of the Mon Valley Alliance Foundation.
When the Mon Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce went looking for someone to help make the burgeoning immigrant population feel welcome, they looked no further than Getro Bernabe.
Fluent in four languages, Bernabe was the obvious choice, and the only candidate interviewed for the immigrant liaison position.
“When I talked with him, I thought there’s no reason to look any further,” said Leanna Spada, executive director of the Mon Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The Haitian-born Bernabe, who has been on the job through Charleroi’s Neighborhood Partnership Program since April 1, has lived in Charleroi for three years and was introduced last week at the chamber building.
The Neighborhood Partnership Program was announced in November as part of $35.9 million in state tax credits awarded through the Neighborhood Assistance Program, in which companies receive state tax credits for investing in nonprofit projects. Through the six-year revitalization program, $1.5 million will be invested into Charleroi for community improvement projects, Main Street development and social services.
Bernabe’s duties will include helping immigrants with documentation, directing and aiding immigrants in navigating everyday life, answering questions and problem solving, and serving as a point of contact and interpreter.
“We believed all along the key component of this program is the immigrant liaison,” said Jamie Coleccchi, chief executive officer, Mon Valley Alliance Foundation. “We thought it would be nice to have somebody who could be a liaison within the community, a trusted partner who could help facilitate discussion. He is a perfect person for this.”
A survey conducted in April showed that about 2,000 immigrants from 44 countries – including China, Spain, Indonesia and African countries – make Charleroi their home.
Bernabe, 46, said his goal is to encourage immigrant community engagement. And that shouldn’t be difficult for Bernbe, who is fluent in English, Spanish, French and Creole, the native language of Haiti.
Bernabe boasts a broad resume. His first job in Charleroi was in data analysis at Fourth Street Barbecue. He also has served as an officer in the Haitian Coast Guard, where he was the language laboratory chief manager and administered the English language laboratory. He also received immigration training in Haiti’s International Organization for Migration and served as a liaison to the U.S. Embassy in Haiti. He also wrote a book about the Haitian Coast Guard.
Bernabe was already handling much of the liaison position duties: He served as an adult educator for the Literacy Council of Southwestern Pennsylvania, and also volunteered for the Mon Valley Transit Authority and Charleroi Area School District.
He was also instrumental in creating the first Haitian Flag Day celebration in Charleroi, scheduled for 5 to 9 p.m. May 18 at the Charleroi Market House.
Bernabe said the new position is “in my blood.”
“I have a sense of altruism. It’s part of my personality,” Bernabe said. “My experience as a liaison officer and my experience in Haitian Coast Guard and all of the U.S. Coast Guard training gives me the credentials to play that role of community liaison in Charleroi. I recognize that I have the capacity to influence people.”
Bernabe already has presented his plan for his first six months in the job as he works to support and facilitate the integration of newcomers into the community.
“I feel good doing this,” Bernabe said. “(I’m in) in a position where I can use the best of myself to help people, especially the newcomers in this area to make them feel this is their home and to have them reduce their frustration of being in a foreign country.”
In addition to hiring Bernabe, the NPP activities for its inaugural year have included conversations with the borough to renovate and upgrade playgrounds, investing in upgrades at Charleroi Area Public Library, stabilizing the Greater Charleroi Community Development Corp. financially, fostering Main Street improvements, providing financial counseling to residents, assisting in homeownership programming and connecting residents with job opportunities.