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Harout "Harry" Diarbian named
2009 Woonsocket Rotary
Vocational Service Award Recipient

Harout "Harry" Diarbian, Transitional Case Manager at the Woonsocket Shelter Community Action

Harry was born in Lebanon in 1967. When he was 6 years old, his father passed away and his mother moved the family - Harry and his three brothers and sister - from Lebanon to Syria to be colder to her family. At age 12, Harry had to quit school in order to work and help his family financially. In 1983 Harry and his family immigrated to the United States and settled in Providence, RI. He spoke no English but was fluent in both Arabic and Armenian. He enrolled as a freshman at Mount Pleasant High School and spent the next 4 years learning English as a 3rd language. During this time, he obtained a part-time job working in a local supermarket. While a high school student, he also worked for Keep Providence Beautiful, cleaning up area parks.

In 1986 Harry graduated from High School and acquired full-time work in a factory. After one year he realized that he wanted to do work that would involve helping others. In 1988, Hary enrolled as a full-time student at CCRI with a major in Human Services. He also began a new position as an Intake Worker at a shelter for boys and girls, working at the Key Program for 5 years. In 1990, Harry transferred to Rhode Island College and graduated with a Sociology Degree 3 years later.

Harry started his job as a Transitional Case Manager at the Woonsocket Shelter Community Action in 1993. He married his wife, Christine in that same year. A few years later he became a Senior Case Manager. Harry has received several awards including the Paul Dempster, Doris Obrien and the John Cohen Awards. Harry is currently a Supervisor at the Family Resources Community Action (Woonsocket Shelter).

In 2002, Harry and his wife became proud parents of twin boys, Aram and Aleksander. Born 10 weeks prematurely, they are truly a double blessing for Harry and Christine. Before his sons were born, Harry, in his spare time, produced a Public Access Cable Program called Armenian TV Time. It ran for 5 years and the program featured Armenian music, dance, cooking, and topics of interest of which were greatly enjoyed and appreciated by many in the Armenian Community. Once his twins were born, however, priorities changed and nothing became more important than spending time with and caring for his family.