The city’s fire department warned the Christ Ministry Center that the building could not accommodate so many families for safety reasons, so the center started finding other places to relocate people.
The center bought a house in front of the building, and churches and houses of worship from other religions opened places for about 150 people.
“Now we are renting more places through receiving some funding from international organizations, other churches, individuals (and) foundations, who believe in the ministry of welcoming the stranger,” Jenkins said.
Ronald Fildor, 43, is from Cap-Haitien. He left his country in 2014 and crossed 10 borders (Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico) to arrive in the United States.
“I arrived here in August with my wife and two daughters, after many difficulties,” he said. He was robbed several times and found people who had been murdered on the journey, he said.
Fildor and his family attended a church in Haiti and now have been in the Christ Center since August. They attend Exodus United Methodist Church, a Haitian congregation that operates in the center and is led by the Rev. Donald Owens. The pastor and the people of the center are their “only family,” Fildor said.
Most of the migrants need to stay 48 to 72 hours in shelters until they can travel to meet family or friends. About 10% don’t have a place to stay and need more time to find ways to incorporate into communities.
“We have been providing long-term care from six months to two years with the support of other organizations and churches,” Jenkins said. “It is a miracle to us to see how a dying small congregation has been able to help more than 10,000 people.”
This article originally appeared here.
