A BRIEF HISTORY

The Haitian American Community Association (HACA) opened its doors in 1976 to offer support for Haitian immigrants living in the Chicago area. In the beginning the main programming focus was to provide immigration and citizenship assistance to newly arrived Haitians. As time passed, the organization saw the need for more services and began offering food distribution, day care, and translation services. HACA also began serving people from all nationalities and ethnic backgrounds as time progressed, helping anyone who asked for assistance

HACA is located in the northwest neighborhood Rogers Park. Rogers Park is the northernmost neighborhood community of Chicago, Illinois, bordering the City of Evanston and Howard Street to the north, Ridge Boulevard to the west, Lake Michigan to the east, and Devon Avenue to the south. Rogers Park is the location of the lakeshore campus of Loyola University Chicago and its famous Madonna Della Strada, chapel church of Chicago's Jesuit community.

Rogers Park is one of the most culturally and economically diverse neighborhoods in Chicago and the nation. More than 80 languages are spoken among the community's 63,000 residents. In Rogers Park, people celebrate diversity and value harmonious living. Residents of differing incomes and ages live side-by-side and work together to build a community where everyone, can live, work and succeed.
A few demographics of Rogers Park include:

Population of 63,484
Ethnic Breakdown
White 31.8%
Black 29.6%
Hispanic 27.8%
Asian 6.40%
Other 4.48%
Median Income of $31,602

HACA designs and implements educational programs and other services to help fellow Haitians and Haitian-Americans. However, the organization also serves many other ethnic groups living in the Rogers Park community. HACA seeks to partner with other institutions and individuals to advance the interests of the Haitian community. HACA hopes to enhance many of the services it is already providing and to create new programs as well.