At the Jubilee Center on Jackson Street, kids who live in Hoboken Housing Authority projects can have a snack after school, do their homework, and learn how to cook.
The center gives children from kindergarten to sixth grade a place to go instead of roaming the streets.
Unfortunately, the safe haven lost $250,000 in state funding each year since 2007, and has been relying on local support.
Laurence Henriques, chairman of the Board of Trustees, said they are working hard to assure that the Jubilee Center remains a vibrant sanctuary for low-income children.
“They’re good kids,” Henriques said. “Many of their parents are drug addicts or in jail, and that makes it hard for them. It’s an opportunity to give them protection and a safe place to be.”
Eat and study
During the school year, over 70 kids fill the building at 601 Jackson St. They are escorted to the center by volunteers after 3 p.m. and greeted with a snack. Henriques said potato chips have been ousted in favor of healthy snacks like fruit.
After their snack, kids can get assistance doing their homework. Henriques remarked that he doesn’t remember having this much homework in the third grade.
The children are rotated daily to different activities, like cooking, dancing, creative writing, and computer skills.
After activities, the kids are treated to a meal, which many of them need. The board chairman said the staff wasn’t prepared for how hungry the kids were when they first started serving. Now they serve 1,400 meals per month.
“You take them down to Washington Street and it’s like going to Europe with them.” – Larry Henriques
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Sometimes the group takes field trips. Henriques said invitations to the kids are appreciated, and so is help with the transportation. Even a ferry ride is extravagant to children who live among gangs, violence, and the drug culture.
“You take them down to Washington Street and it’s like going to Europe with them,” Henriques said.
Volunteers are always appreciated, Henriques said, but right now, the center really needs monetary donations.
Many local businesses and individuals donate to the center; some restaurants even supply meals.
Started by a few people
The center was started not by any government agency, but by a group of concerned residents and members of All Saints Episcopal Parish who wanted to see what sort of help the people in the projects needed.
Henriques had just retired from a career at Johnson & Johnson when he got involved in 2003. He had grown up just around the corner, yet had never ventured into the low-income housing neighborhood.
He said that what the residents of the projects asked for most was a way to keep their kids busy after school until they came home from work.
All Saints already had had members volunteering to help kids with their homework, so building a community center was the next step. The group’s non-profit, non-sectarian arm secured a grant with the assistance of then-State Sen. Bernard Kenny.
Helping hands
A few events recently benefitted the center, and more are planned for the future.
Ben and Jerry’s Free Cone Day on Tuesday, April 21 offered free ice cream cones at the store at 405 Washington St. and encouraged donations to Jubilee. Over $2,000 was raised.
Another fundraiser, the Cut-A-Thon, was organized by Hair Cult at 1124 Washington St. They offered reduced-price hair cuts and other services, providing music and prizes for patrons. Proceeds of over $3,000 were given to charities, half of which went to the Jubilee Center.
The Hoboken Harriers “HoHa” Classic five-mile run benefitting the center is scheduled for Sunday, May 17.
According to the center, it costs $35 per day per child to keep the kids off the streets, or over $8,000 per year, and Henrique said local support is vital since the center has no national organization backing.
For more information on the Jubilee center, or to donate, call (201) 792-0340 or visit jubileecenterhoboken.org.
Timothy J. Carroll may be reached at tcarroll@hudsonreporter.com.