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​ABOUT US
VISION
Mental Health Awareness, Access, and Acceptance for All.
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MISSION
Dedicated to strengthening global mental health for individuals, families, and communities through psychosocial education, support, and awareness to foster hope and peace of mind.
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VALUES
Our work is informed and guided by our commitment to:
â–ª INCLUSIVENESS: We respect cultural, religious, racial, ethnic, physical and mental ability, sexual orientation, and gender diversity, and are committed to equitable access and care.
â–ª INTEGRITY: We value honesty, transparency, and accountability.
â–ª QUALITY: We are dedicated to continuous capacity building and improvement.
â–ª COLLABORATION: We strive for a culture of teamwork and effective communication.
OUR STORY
"Espere" is the Haitian Creole verb "to hope". Each of our services aims to increase hope and strength as our members work to overcome individual and community mental health and psychosocial challenges.
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Espere Community Counseling Center was founded by Erika Childs Charles and a committed team of Haitian mental health professionals. Erika originally came to Haiti after finishing a graduate degree in International Disaster Psychology from the University of Denver with the plan to teach one semester at a local university as a volunteer visiting psychology professor. She quickly saw how passionate her students were about mental health, and that there were virtually no opportunities for the students to practice what they were learning. Professors and students both saw that mental health services could have a major positive impact in the communities where they lived and worked.
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Erika cancelled her return ticket home, and got to work with a team of Haitian psychologists, social workers, and university students to start one of Haiti's only mental health organizations. With the help of friends and family from around the world contributing to the initial campaign that gave the start-up funding, Espere opened its doors in Petionville, Haiti in September 2014.
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Today, Espere offers a variety of mental health and psychosocial support programs and projects in Haiti and Mexico, often working in partnership with local and international organizations. Espere employs local mental health professionals so they can practice their trade in their own communities and contribute their expertise to the international field of psychology.
We receive support from some of our partnered projects as well as fees for services when applicable. But as with that first campaign, the majority of Espere's funding comes from individual donors who believe in equitable global mental health access, and support the work Espere is doing to meet this crucial need.
