New Little Village facility for migrants opened Saturday and filling quickly
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Just hours after opening a new center to care for migrants on Saturday, organizers say they'll already need more space.
The "respite center" in Little Village's Piotrowski Park in the 24th Ward is expected to handle about 150 people. The first bus of migrants arrived around 5:30 p.m.
One of them was William Daniel with his small son in his lap, looking out at the place that will be their temporary shelter after arriving in Chicago from San Antonio six days ago.
These men -- Edinson Morales from Columbia, Jackson Leon, and Daniel from Venezuela -- have been sleeping on Chicago police district floors with their families. They say it was stressful, especially for the children.
Ald. Micheal Rodriguez says they started planning this respite center less than two weeks ago, knowing it would likely be over-capacity the same day it opened.
"Look at the end of the day, I don't think this is a place where families can see themselves long-term," Rodriguez said. "We are going to need other communities and other people to stand up, raise their hand, and say we want to help.
Leaders at New Hope Pilsen opened their sanctuary as an overflow station after the shelter near them reached capacity.
"We have another center that's due to open pretty soon right up the street and they have opened a little already and they're already overpacked," said Pastor Herman Jimenez.
As these families of asylum seekers bring their belongings into another holding space, they're not sure what the future holds.
But there's reason to hope.
"We feel more relaxed now because from where we came from, it hasn't been easy to get here where we are today," Daniel said. "That's why we feel good because our kids are going to have a better future."
Morales has been traveling for eight months with his wife and toddler daughter.
Leon came with a 12-year-old daughter but didn't have enough money to bring his wife and two other children.
They said they'd heard stories about people making this journey before but none expected it to be as difficult as it was.