City of Denver asking for help as migrants keep coming
The City of Denver says in the waning months of 2022, they have seen a lot of migrants coming to Denver, but they also saw a large spike in the number of migrants arriving in the first week of December.
"One of the most challenging aspects of this has been the immediate housing and shelter needs," said Evan Dryer, Deputy Chief of Staff for Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.
On Dec. 2, 40-50 arrived all at once. Then late Monday night into Tuesday, 90 more arrived.
"They were dropped off at Denver Union Station and they made their way to the Denver Rescue Mission," said Dryer.
He says this does not seem like a coordinated effort by another state to send busloads of migrants to Denver. Instead, they say migrants are choosing Denver as a destination.
"From what we have been able to gather there was sort of an informal gathering, some on social media, among those folks themselves," said Dryer.
On Wednesday, CBS News Colorado's Marissa Armas talked to a Venezuelan migrant who arrived in Denver the week before the mass influx. She told Marissa that Denver is considered a safe haven.
"It's one of the first cities that they'll tell you to go to- Denver and Albuquerque," said the woman who wished only to be identified as Daniela.
The city says it is working to make sure the migrants get a warm welcome. They have set up a shelter at a rec center and are connecting people with food and legal and medical services.
They also say the migrants will keep coming, so they are asking the community to help house those who may be arriving soon.
"Part of what we want to do today is put a call out to our faith-based, nonprofit and non-governmental organization community for their help as well," said Dryer.
Dryer says all of this is being paid for with general funds but that the community has also reached out and donated money and supplies as well as volunteered their time.
Organizations that can support providing resources can visit www.denvergov.org/oem
Individuals interested in giving monetary donations are encouraged to contact the Denver Community Church, Americans Friends Service Committee, and Colorado Hosting Asylum Network. The city is still working on establishing a location for physical donation drop off. Once that has been established, they will be published on www.denvergov.org/oem and social media.
Community members interested in volunteering must be registered and credentialed volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering for this effort, visit www.denvergov.org/oem.
