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This center has served El Paso since 1912, though its roots go back to 1893 when Rose Gregory Houchen, a teacher from Michigan, met Margaret Tripp, a member of the Women's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Tripp was a missionary in Segundo Barrio, a Hispanic neighborhood along the U.S.-Mexico border. In 1910, Houchen donated $1,000 to build an institution to help the poor. Completed in 1912 at the corner of Tays and Fifth streets, the Rose Gregory Houchen Settlement House offered English language classes, Bible study, daycare, kindergarten and social gatherings. An influx of immigrants arrived in Segundo Barrio during the Mexican Revolution in the 1910s. The poor conditions in which they lived contributed to outbreaks of disease; residents especially suffered during the 1918 flu epidemic. The center began to focus on health care, teaching hygiene, treating illnesses and opening public showers. Soon, the Women's Division of the Methodist Board of Global Ministries purchased a neighboring building, opening Freeman Clinic. In 1937, a building with two wings replaced the clinic, with one wing for Freeman Clinic and the other for Newark Maternity Hospital, which provided pre- and post-natal care as well as delivery for more than 62,000 babies before closing in 1986. The center continued to grow in the following years, adding new programs. Later it was joined by El Buen Pastor Methodist Church (1945) and Houchen Day School (1947) to form a compound known as Friendship Square. In 1988, a gymnasium was built and in 1992, a playground and Head Start building replaced the old settlement house. Today, Houchen Community Center continues to offer many programs to serve and encourage residents of Segundo Barrio. (2007) |
