1950-2024
In 1975, Deborah Humphreys founded and served as executive director (1975-1980) of El Club Del Barrio( St. Columba Neighborhood Club) in Newark. It worked to prevent eviction, repair housing, and enforce tenant rights, as well as other social services.
After founding El Club Del Barrio, Deborah worked as a Legislative Aide for Senator Lipman contributing to policies.
In 1989, she was appointed Director of Family Life at St. Columba Family Life Center, providing social services and resources for families. This group merged with El Club Del Barrio and she became Clinical Director.
She then worked with the Ironbound Community Corporation as a social worker, with families and immigrants in that working class Newark neighborhood. She directed the Abbott Family Outreach Program at Ironbound.
Born in Delaware, Deborah was part of a high school summer program where students taught English to migrant workers in South Jersey. Later she worked for the Migrant Health Department, working with health issues for migrant workers including pesticides. Outside of Newark, she taught at the College of Saint Elizabeth, and later served as Executive Director of Pueblo Nuevo New York. She also served as a social worker at Dominican Sisters Family Health Services in the Bronx, NY. She also worked for social justice for AIDs patients. Since 2011, she worked as part of the leadership team at Sisters for Charity.
Deborah moved to Newark in 1972 when she became a Sister of Charity. She earned a Bachelors from College of Saint Elizabeth and a Masters of Social Work from Rutgers & her license in Clinical Social Work in NJ. She was a published poet with books: Conventional Wisdom, Portals, We Speak for Peace and Pocketpoetry, and hosted writing workshops”. She was also interested in the Irish language.
Bibliography
NJ Hispanic Reference Center – Latino Life Stories, Newark Library
Digitized papers, Newark Library
https://www.nj.com/independentpress/2014/03/college_of_saint_elizabeth_in_8.html
“Seeking A Muse” Star Ledger Apr 22, 2001