SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — It’s been a month since false claims were made on the political stage about Haitians in Springfield, and it’s still making an impact, but one Haitian immigrant is trying something different to help families get through hatred directed at them. 

In between all the talk and false claims about Haitians in Springfield, there is one voice that’s been trying to get through it all.

Yvena Jean François has been sending motivational messages in Haitian Creole through an online podcast to try to uplift the Haitian community.

“It’s important, cause if you want to change some people, the podcast can do this,” said Jean François.

She says it all started not long after she came to Springfield from Haiti back in 2020. She was doing photography in Haiti, but stopped to come here and escape attacks and violence in Haiti.

“My parents say you must stay because of the situation in my country, that’s why I say, okay, well, I try to stay,” said Jean François.

She says she had a job working at Amazon, but couldn’t give up on her dream.

“I start to edit my video, my personal video, and then when I talk to some people, they say, ‘You can do it, you can make your studio here.’I say really? And then I try to save my money and buy the equipment and then, boom, I make my studio here,” said Jean François.

By 2023 she started RYTV, Radio Yvena TV and for the past year, she’s been covering stories on Haitian issues in Springfield and posting them online. Most recently addressing misconceptions about Haitians head on. 

“I tell the people the words can affect you inside but don’t show the people that,” said Jean François, “Haitian people, come here to work, they have authorization to work, they are not an illegal,” she said.

She says the impact from those false claims, and threats that followed has some Haitians leaving town, but she says she’s here to stay.

“I still want to continue my dream, follow my dream,” said Jean François.