Detroit organizations supporting asylum seekers warn of stretched capacity
(CBS DETROIT) - It's like trying to squeeze water from a stone.
That's how Elizabeth Orozco-Vasquez, the executive director of Freedom House Detroit, describes the unending need for support for asylum seekers and refugees in Detroit.
"We're seeing far and above what we typically see, I would say double," Orozco-Vasquez said.
Her organization is the only migrant resource that also provides shelter in Detroit.
Orozco-Vasquez says her 8,000 square-foot facility usually holds about 60 migrants but is now working with well over 100, with cots and bed stations in hallways and any available space.
"Despite being a border city, I don't think we're necessarily prepared for this influx to come in," Orozco-Vasquez says of what she predicts to be an increase in migrants coming to Michigan. "My colleagues are seeing people come to their doors seeking assistance but not just assistance but also shelter, and so we're all in this stance where we were already overwhelmed with the need, but now we're seeing an increased need."
Crises around the world are driving this influx - the war in Ukraine, instability in Central and South America, and those fleeing unrest in African countries, too. The system here at home, Orozco-Vasquez says, makes getting migrants on their feet in their adopted home more difficult.
"Depending on the immigration case and the asylum case, some people can apply right away. Some people might not be able to apply for a year to a year and a half, which leaves them without any kind of income," she said.
Leadership at Freedom House Detroit says they could use help from the community, and blankets, hygiene products and donations would not be turned away.