Save the John Hope Settlement House: Petition asks Board to resign, claims mismanagement

The Save John Hope Committee is asking the community sign a petition to “save John Hope” and accuses board of mismanagement

(Updates are bolded and in red)

The Save John Hope committee is in need of all of you that have corresponded about Saving John Hope to sign the petition . We have been working hard and meeting with officials to Save John Hope Petition.

As you may know, John Hope settlement house is a legacy in our community. John Hope is the only African American community center in Rhode Island. John Hope Settlement House’s Mission statement is “to provide leadership through comprehensive and dynamic human services, community outreach and advocacy for children, youth, and families in Providence and beyond”.

In the previous years John Hope’s morale has decreased due to the lack of mismanagement of its Board of Directors, staff and maintenance of its building.  The Save John Hope committee sent a letter to the Board of directors (May 1, 2024) asking them for a meeting to discuss our concerns. As of this press release, we have never received a response. 

The Board of Directors are accountable for the mismanagement of funds and failure of their mission statement.  John Hope Board of Directors has failed its mission and fiduciary responsibilities to act as trustees of the organization’s assets and must exercise due diligence and oversight to ensure that the organization is wellmanaged and that its financial situation remains sound.

The Board of Directors has threatened and jeopardized the integrity of our community’s governance. It’s time for a change in leadership to ensure fairness, transparency, and respect for all.

Please join us in signing this petition. You don’t have to live in the West End to support this important endeavor. We request the resignation of all current board members who do not act in the best interest of our community center.

For questions or concerns at [email protected].

The Change.Org petition is here: https://chng.it/hZHJqHSVdx – as of publication Thursday morning, 34 out of a goal of 50 had signed.

It is unclear what individuals are behind the petition effort.

Update: We have been told Rosa Ortiz, Janice Luongo, Michell Bridges and Joe Almeida are behind Save John Hope.

Three comments were left on the petition:

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Response from John Hope. The website is out of date, with the above message on the opening page. In addition, there have been no Facebook posts for a year. All 3 staff members contacted by phone said they knew nothing about the petition, Program Director identified as Darnell asked for more information and said he would respond with a statement. Nothing was received by publication time. Efforts to reach the board chair, listed as Terrence Green were unsuccessful. It is also unclear if the Executive Director position has been filled after it was vacated, or who is actually on the governing Board of Directors. Darrell Waldron is listed on the RI Secretary of State’s website as President of the Board. The board list for 2024 is as follows:

IRS 990 filing – last available for 2022 (for tax year 2021):

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Statement from Ray Rickman, long time advocate for the people served by the John Hope Settlement House, when we notified him about the petition: “I believe everyone of a caring nature should stop talking about the past failure of others and make a positive game plan.  To restore John Hope it will take a Herculean effort by serious community leaders. As busy as I am, I will join the effort to save the most important community center in the Black community if an upbeat team is organized. A plan can be put in place and executed with all hands on deck. I think it will take both people inside and outside the community to make this happen.” – Ray Rickman, Executive Director, Stages of Freedom

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This is a developing story.