PBH Negotiates Program With Local Reach Group

Phillips Brooks House Association is negotiating affiliation with a Cambridge social service organization that could lead to a $48,000 grant from the federal government, according to Wesley E. Profit '69, president of PBH.

Reach--Raise Educational Aspirations and Cultural Horizons--is an ad hoe agency concerned with community-controlled educational enrichment activities in Cambridge.

Profit said a merger of Reach and PBH would increase the chances for federal funding on two counts:

* the federal government will not fund more than one program in Cambridge.

* city-wide programs are looked upon more favorably than those limited to a local community.

Reach, which includes representatives of PBH, the M.I.T. social service organization, and the Cambridge Corporation, now coordinates activities primarily in Area Four of East Cambridge. "PBH might help Reach to expand to city-wide status," Profit said.

Separate Requests

Reach and PBH have already submitted separate requests for funding and program proposals to the federal government.

Reach is about to incorporate so that it can contract for federal funds, according to Profit. He said that the agency will be controlled by residents of the community rather than by outside professionals.

The current Reach programs in Area Four--Educational Talent Search and Tutoring--are run mainly by M.I.T. students. Whether the majority of residents of Reach would come from Area Four or from all over Cambridge is the major point still under investigation between M.I.T. and PBH.

Oliver Brooks, director of the Harvard-M.I.T. supported Cambridge Corporation, characterized his role as that of "impartial negotiator" in the merger. He refused to comment on any difficulties remaining between PBH and M.I.T.