CREA Europe Board of Directors
Alan Christie - Director of Private Sector Policy, UK Commission for Racial Equality
Patrick Neyts - Senior Advisor, VECTRA International
Vic Thorpe - Founder/Coordinator, Just Solutions Network
Margaret Wachenfield - Director of Children's Rights Policy, UNICEF

CREA House

CREA's original vision and statement of mission included the idea of a center. Here a faith community would live, research would be done, and persons who work for justice could come to share experiences and ideas in an understanding and welcoming atmosphere. We hoped the house would be situated where it belonged: among poor and low-income people.

In January 1999, an amazingly generous benefactor made possible the purchase of a 90-year old, 3-story house. It is located in a predominantly working-class and low-income neighborhood in Hartford, Connecticut. The vision moved into reality.

A loan from a religious community and a grant from the Sexton Foundation provided funding for essential repairs. Generous CREA supporters provided building materials and cash donations. Volunteers, including people from the neighborhood, worked faithfully to transform the house into a warm, welcoming dwelling: CREA House.

Now CREA House resembles the original dream. The first floor includes a welcoming room, a room for reflection, offices and a common work space. The second floor provides living space for our faith community. The third floor has the computer network, research space and a guest room.
    
One of the major thrusts of CREA's mission is to provide space for like-minded and like-hearted persons to meet and to spend time together in sharing and reflection on their work for economic justice. CREA has welcomed persons from many states and also from El Salvador, Guatemala, Brazil, Kenya and China.

Living right within a neighborhood keeps us connected to the realities of life as experienced by struggling workers, and provides for our organization a  culturally rich and diverse location. In turn, our work on the building and grounds helps stabilize an inner-city neighborhood.