Dr. Lorraine Hale

From New York Amsterdam News Dr. Lorraine E. Hale, pioneering child development expert and co-founder of Hale House Center, inc., dies in NYC 4/24/2013, 3:05 p.m.

New York, NY, April 24, 2013: Dr. Lorraine E. Hale, co-founder of Hale House Center, Inc., died Sunday, April 21 in New York City. She was 86. According to her family, Dr. Hale died from complications of Alzheimer's disease. She was born in Philadelphia, PA on May 21, 1926 to Thomas and Clara Jane McBride Hale. The family later moved to Harlem.

Dr. Hale and her mother, affectionately known as "Mother" Hale, founded Hale House in 1969. It was the first nonprofit agency in the nation dedicated exclusively to the care of children born to drug-addicted mothers. Hale House cared for more than 1,000 children born addicted to heroin, methadone, cocaine, alcohol, crack cocaine and other substances. Parents were allowed to have their children cared for at Hale House contingent upon their enrollment in rehabilitation programs. Close to 90 percent of the children cared for at Hale House were ultimately reunited with their families, a strategic, long-term goal of the Hales which was a foundation of their mission.

Both Dr. Hale and her mother were passionate about education and human service. "My heart's desire has been, and always will be, to see pregnant women stop taking drugs ...the eradication of venereal diseases... and a cure found for AIDS. Hale House must continue to help the innocent victims of these life-threatening forces. As long as there are babies in need of love and care, Hale House must be here to meet their needs."

Dr. Hale received many accolades for her pioneering work including a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition; The Children's Defense Fund Award, and the prestigious Frontrunner Award in the Humanities from the Sara Lee Corporation. No one was more proud than Dr. Hale when her mother was invited by President Ronald Reagan to the House chamber to be recognized as "an American hero" during his January 1985 State of the Union address.

Dr. Hale received a B.A. from Long Island University and an M.S. from City College of New York, her father's alma mater. She completed post-secondary work at The Bank Street College of Education and earned a certificate in African history from The University of Ghana. She later earned a Ph.D. from Western University and an Ed.D. from New York University. She began her career as an assistant teacher at the Church of All Nations School. She later joined the New York City Public School System as a teacher, guidance counselor, and school psychologist. In 1969 she co-founded Hale House Center for the Promotion of Human Potential, Inc., and served as executive director until 1989, when she was named president and chief executive officer.

"Rae," as she was known affectionately by her family, along with her Mother, is remembered a beacon of class, grace, dignity and love. "These two women blazed a swath through Harlem, New York, the United States and the world, placing them in the company of many great women of our time," the family noted.

• Updated from Ancestry Genealogy via father Thomas Hale by SmartCopy: May 10 2015, 20:20:21 UTC