Web Feature: Haiti Disaster Hits Home at N.C. Shop

If Joyce Saint Cyr had her way, she’d be in Haiti right now, not in her Concord, N.C., coffee shop. “I’d help move rocks,” she says. “That’s all they need is help.”

Saint Cyr knows better than most the needs of the ravaged nation. Though she was born in New York City, her family is from Haiti, and she has several family members and a number of friends who still live in the country. Most made it through the earthquake alive but one did not, and that single death illustrates just how dire circumstances have become. “My best friend’s brother lost his young child,” says Saint Cyr. “Because of the chaos he’s been sleeping with the body so it won’t be taken. My friend called and said, ‘I want to give my nephew a proper burial, what do I do?’ I cried and cried and cried.”

Though Saint Cyr had to make peace with the fact there was little she could do to help the awful situation her friend’s family is facing, she has devoted her energy—and her coffeehouse—to helping the Haiti relief effort as a whole. The shop, Diversity Den Café, has become a drop-off site for residents of the suburban Charlotte area who wish to donate non-perishable food, clothing and money to relief efforts. The café also will be hosting a fashion show on Feb. 27, and the money brought in through admission fees will be donated as well.

Saint Cyr admits, however, that though she has felt driven to use her business as a donation hub, she still finds herself overwhelmed by the tragedy at times. She had to turn off the shop’s television because news footage of the earthquake destruction caused her to cry uncontrollably. Because her shop is only a year old and is still trying to reach financial stability, she can’t just keep the “closed” sign up when she’s feeling particularly shaken. “Sometimes I just have to push it all aside because the reality is this is a business,” she says. “There are people coming in the door that don’t know [my background], and I need to greet them and provide an environment where they’ll feel happy.”

Her regulars know the story, and she says they’ve been greatly supportive. She also was approached by a women’s group that wanted to both promote Diversity Den and extend a hand toward Haiti. Saint Cyr started a promotion in which she sells small bags of coffee for $4.99. For each bag sold, she donates a dollar to help her family’s homeland recover. “Maybe other shops could do the same,” she says. “It’s just bringing awareness.”

And awareness is what Saint Cyr thinks Haiti needs more than anything. She recognizes that right now Haitians require help getting the basics—food, shelter and proper burials. But months or years from now, the nation will need sustained global assistance to improve living standards in the long term. “When all the cameras and everything go away, I don’t want people to forget about Haiti and the people in Haiti,” she says. “It’s going to take a while. Help is appreciated—and needed.”

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