New migrant shelter in Roxbury already having impact on community
ROXBURY - Roxbury restaurant owner Norvia Pena is helping prepare dozens of meals each day for the newly arrived migrants at the Melnea Cass Recreational Complex located just across the street, and it's been a quick pivot for her. "This is America, we help everybody," said Pena. "I'm having meetings, working on meals plans, calling vendors I work with."
The Caribbean restaurant Fort Hill Bar and Grill is now cooking largely Haitian cuisine for the families and individuals. It's one of several local businesses hired by the state to provide food and other necessities. She says it's been a lifeline after the pandemic nearly shut her down.
She sympathizes with their situation arriving herself from the Dominican Republic when she was 10 years old. "They don't know what's going to happen to them. I feel for them, I was the same way 40 years ago," Pena said.
But the shelter is a source of controversy in the community since the beds have displaced many programs. Some activists are seeking a meeting with Governor Healey and Mayor Wu. "The bottom line is we're of being dictated to as to what happens in our community," said Sadiki Kambom with the Black Community Information Center.
Kristen Ransom's sons run track for the Boston Lions Club and use the center for practice. "Empathy and frustration are not mutually exclusive," said Ransom. Her eight-year-old son Pierce is a national champion in his age group with no indoor space now to practice. "They go and do this awesome stuff and come back and the community doesn't have what they need to thrive," Ransom said.
Norvia Pena understands the frustration but says her deliveries are providing comfort to others who have also been displaced. "They were laughing, they were at a table eating," Pena said. "You could see the change in their faces."
Currently 141 migrants are housed at the complex with fifty more expected to arrive on Friday.
