La Casa de Amistad

Formed 17 October 1973 — the House of Friendship

Founding: La Casa de Amistad — the House of Friendship — was formed on 17 October 1973, in its own published history's exact date, by Father John Phalen, C.S.C., and Latino community leaders of South Bend, as a youth outreach program answering the needs of Latino teenagers, many of them from the migrant-worker families who labored in the area's fields. In 1975 it incorporated as a nonprofit and operated out of an old home on Warren Street on the West Side, with one full-time staff member. In 1980 it moved to 746 South Meade Street, a repurposed two-story neighborhood general store, and operated there for forty years; in 1985 it became a United Way agency.

Course: The programs widened with the community: a preschool, summer camp, computer and English classes, citizenship classes, a legal clinic, a food pantry — thirteen programs in recent accounts, open to people of all cultural groups. In 2021 La Casa completed a 3,250,000-dollar capital campaign and moved into a renovated 40,000-square-foot commercial building at 3423 South Michigan Street. On 19 March 2024 it was named an awardee of MacKenzie Scott's Yield Giving Open Call, receiving 2,000,000 dollars — the gift itself belongs to Major Donations; the institution that earned it stands here. Juan Constantino is its chief executive in the public record of office. La Casa and El Campito above are the Latino community's two founding charities of the 1970s, one born of a parish priest and neighborhood leaders, the other of a family's own home; each record is its own.

Sources:

1. La Casa de Amistad (lacasadeamistad.org), About and community-center pages — the formation on 17 October 1973 by Fr. John Phalen, C.S.C., and Latino community leaders; the 1975 incorporation and the Warren Street house; the 1980 move to 746 South Meade Street; the 1985 United Way membership; the 2021 campaign and the Michigan Street building.
2. Today's Catholic, 28 April 2022 — the founding account; the thirteen programs; 3423 South Michigan Street.
3. La Casa de Amistad, release of 19 March 2024 — the 2,000,000-dollar Yield Giving Open Call award.
4. Congregation of Holy Cross, "Called to Make a Difference," August 2024 — Fr. Phalen's founding journey and the Birdsell Street community.