Passaic Neighborhood Center’s new location blessed by Bishop

PASSAIC  The women who visit the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women here consider it their second home. Since it first opened its doors in fall 2013, the center has seen more than 17,000 visits from women living in Passaic, who come to the Center for English classes, quilting and crocheting classes; to grow fruits and vegetables for their families and to become connected with community resources to fulfill their needs. The Center has served as a place for women by offering them a safe, peaceful and welcoming environment.

The past two years, the Center has seen several changes. Last August, it moved to a new location in the former convent at St. Stephen Maygar Parish, a Hungarian community, on Third Street in the city, because its former location in the rectory at St. Nicholas Parish is once again needed for the priests serving at Our Lady of Fatima and St. Nicholas parishes in the city. For more than a year, the center had been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It just recently reopened for the women, many of whom walk to the center or take public transportation.

On May 23, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited the center for the first time since being named the Diocese of Paterson’s eighth bishop in 2020. The Center is a unique ministry, as it is a collaborative effort of the religious communities serving in the Diocese. It was created to empower women, especially those who are immigrant mothers living in Passaic, which has one of the highest poverty rates in the state.

Bishop Sweeney spoke in Spanish to the women, many of whom came from South American and Caribbean countries, introducing himself and telling them how the center reminded him of a ministry at St. Michael Parish in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. “Coming to know the Latino community has been a great blessing in my life and to see the groups of women active in the parish and working together as immigrant women and moms, who took on that leadership. When we give a little bit, God can do great things and I think that’s part of the experience here.”

During the Bishop’s visit, he blessed the main room and then he enjoyed a lunch made by the visitors to the center and volunteers. Afterward, he toured the center, which includes space on the former convent’s second floor. The Bishop also visited the outdoor garden area in which each woman, who visits frequently, has a designated space in the garden bed.

With the center now fully open again at its new location, volunteers are needed to serve in many capacities such as teaching English or sharing their expertise in social work or psychology. Any women in the area, interested in participating in the center’s activities, can visit the center and take part in its many offerings to them. Women simply need to fill out a card with basic information and an emergency contact.

Earlier this month, the state’s bishops encouraged the faithful to support programs that assist mothers and moms-to-be. The Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women is listed as one of the diocesan programs that is part of the U.S. Bishops’ Walking with Moms in Need initiative. The center has a diaper bank for needy moms with babies and receives the donations of diapers from parishes around the diocese and other benefactors.

Grimace Mora, who is a parishioner of St. Nicholas in Passaic, has been coming to the center for four years. She learned English there and continues to attend the crochet classes and gardens in the summer. The mother with two children said, “I enjoy coming here. I’ve met so many different women and we feel like a family and have become close to many of the women here.”

Information: (973) 470-0844.