Agency Mission Statement:

The mission of the Valley Settlement House (VSH) is to promote and afford opportunities for the family and each of its members to find and develop his/her potentialities for a positive life in the home, neighborhood and community.

Agency Overall Service Region:

Our service area includes but is not limited to the Oranges, Maplewood, Newark/Irvington (Vailsburg).

Cultural Diversity:

As is, "the Settlement House tradition", the VSH continues to service a large number of immigrants from South America and the Caribbean Islands. The original purpose of settlement houses was to help immigrants assimilate into the social structure of this country. Our present population allows us to continue serving in our conceptual capacity. Currently ninety percent (90%) of our families are equally divided between African American, Latino, and Haitian backgrounds. The remaining ten percent (10%) is ethnically diverse. Many of these families have bilingual and bicultural members. Presently both social service and support staff are fluent in the primary languages spoken by our families. We are prepared to issue all of our information in three languages and can assist clients with translation services.

Agency History and Expertise:

The history of the VSH as a multi-service community agency is over one hundred (100) years old. We provide a wide range of programs targeted at general community support and particularly at assisting families in stability and growth services.

We are the oldest "settlement" in New Jersey and the third oldest in the United States. A brochure written in the year 1900 about the VSH made the statement. "A settlement is not a charity, a mission nor an institution. It is a home and as such seeks to respond to the needs of a neighborhood through personal friendly relations with its neighbors. It strives "to express the meaning of life in terms of life itself." Naturally then the estimate of its usefulness is not reckoned in figures but in terms of understanding and love...." This concept of neighborhood concern and outreach is as much a part of the VSH philosophy as it was in the year 1900.