Originally founded in 1880 as the Hebrew Industrial School, a training school for immigrant girls, this organization followed residents of the Jewish community as they migrated from the North End to the West End and finally to Dorchester. It was later named for Jewish activist Lina Hecht (1848-1920). At a time when nearly a third of the North End’s population was Jewish, the school was established to train women of the community in needlework skills. The Hebrew Ladies’ Sewing Society donated cloth and sewing machines for classes in millinery, hand sewing, power sewing, and pattern cutting. The school became Hecht Neighborhood House in 1922 in the West End and moved to Dorchester in 1936 where it served the Jewish community for another thirty years. The institution merged with the YMHA of Boston in 1958/59 to become YMHA-HECHT HOUSE. After moving to Dorchester, the site became a home for orphan Jewish children, then a full-service community center, serving the changing Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan community. Women throughout the area saved pennies first to fund the children’s home and later supported all the recreational and educational activities at the community center. Today, Hecht House is home to the Brooke Charter School of Mattapan.
