Despite the controversy that swirled amid the good work of patron saint, Mother Hale, the Hale House is going strong after 38 years. Mother Hale’s formula was simple: “love plus education equals transformation.” Although Mother Hale passed away in 1992, the legacy of her life continues to touch children who used to be considered “throw away children.”
Hale House grew out from efforts by a single individual, Clara Hale, to care for babies affected by drugs and illness, or babies whose families were unable to care for them. When she was about to retire from her day care job, she became a licensed foster parent so she could take in even more children into her home, eventually the scope of her work expanding to include services for in-risk children and their families.
The first institution to take care of the most innocents victims of the drug crisis, Hale House has since expanded and evolved according to community needs to provide services for at-risk children and their families. In the 1990s, for example, Hale House took in children born with HIV or who had lost their parents to AIDS. Hale House board chairman Zachary Carter said that Mother Hale never thought or expected it to be so big when it was founded in 1969.”
Source: Epoch Times
Watch a video about Hale House
Hale House volunteer
June 14, 2007
I volunteered at Hale House in the late 80s and 90s, when both “Mother Hale” and her daughter were there, so I have personal knowledge about how the children were treated – which is more important, in my view, than what happened to the money. Mother Hale and her daughter spent almost zero time with the children, except when TV cameras arrived. They treated the staff badly, so turnover was high. The children spent many days without ever going outside – the overworked, resentful staff sometimes merely fed and changed the children. We took the children on outings (before Lorraine Hale forbade it) and I’ll never forget one small boy, Herman, who saw a butterfly in a garden, called out “Roach!” and tried, tragicomically, to step on it. Lorraine Hale did do plenty of dirt while her mother was still alive. The real dirt, in my view, was how they neglected the children.
Hail Hale
June 13, 2007
There is no doubt that integrity is an important part of these types of organizations. However, this isn’t a case of sexual abuse, it is a case of the mismanagement of funds. I find it difficult to believe that a woman who took in terminally ill babies at a time when others wouldn’t did it just so she could get rich! This is her daughter’s indiscretion…not Mother Hale’s.
Anonymous
June 13, 2007
2 – “If I’m not mistaken, Lorraine did her dirt after her mom passed away”>
1. You don’t know that.
2. Who’s to say this is no different than Catholic Church Scandals? (deep in history over decades).
3. All We know is when they got “caught”, the crimes could have been taken place for decades for all anyone knows.
That’s why preserving integrity is a must for organizations. Who knows what Hale House has been doing for how long? When a Church learns one of their own has been sexually abusing kids, no Preist at that Church is above scrutinty, we’ve learned of massive cover ups and looking the other way. Who knows how Hale House has been operating for how long, not me, not you, all we know is they got caught.
Divine1906
June 13, 2007
HarlemShame is typical of self righteous negroes. They stomp around in an indignant fury whenever they feel some entity get’s caught in a scandal that makes them look bad.
I also contributed a fair amount to Hale House. And like many, I stopped giving when the scandal broke. But once the then Attorney General cleaned house, a new board was put in place and a new ED was appointed, I started giving again.
Clara Hale’s mission is no less critical now than it was when she started. I don’t need to recite HIV and AIDS infection rates in the African-American community, do I?
So folks who were put off by the scandal should get over themselves. They get ripped off everyday in ways they don’t even realize.
The rest of us will focus on helping those unfortunate babies.
Hail Hale
June 13, 2007
Harlem shame, YOU should be ashamed. Why would you discredit the work done by Clara Hale, the founder of the organization, based on the dishonesty of Lorraine Hale, her daughter? You are allowing one person’s incrimination overshadow the positive work that the organization has done over the past 38 years. If I’m not mistaken, Lorraine did her dirt after her mom passed away. It should not take away from the legacy that her mother left. Shame on you!
HarlemShame
June 13, 2007
“Dr. Lorraine Hale, had charged market rents in an apartment building given to her by the City of New York to house low-income residents. As the charges of malfeasance multiplied prominent leaders such as Rev. Al Sharpton and Congressman Charles Rangel very publicly leapt to Dr. Hale’s defense. Of course, every day another sordid shoe dropped. It turned out that the person listed as the Hale House Treasurer was deceased, and had been deceased for several years. Dr. Hale had borrowed money from the organization both to renovate her suburban home and to finance her husband’s theatrical production”
http://www.blackcommentator.com/74/74_fr_boys_choir.html
In the 90′s I dontated money to Hale House – what an idiot I was too! Sorry, Hale House exploited & ripped off lots of Black people (like me). Sorry, Hale House is a major shame of Harlem. The crimes were not minor, subtle, no way. You can spin this, diminish this, or act like they’re not crooks.
I was involved in getting the rock band the Smashing Pumpkins to play at Hale House as a fund raiser in the 90′s too (at the top of their career), what a fool I was. I know Hale House on the inside too well, CROOKS, no ETHICS, not my opinion, extremely well documented by all sorts of people, let’s be honest. Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice? Shame on Uptown Flavor of even profiling that shame called Hale House. Crimes of the past matter!