‘I just walk around aimlessly’: Migrants at Cambridge courthouse shelter have nowhere to go during the day
By Daniel Kool Globe Correspondent,Updated February 15, 2024, 1 hour ago
A Haitian migrant walked his daughter to school from the shelter they’re staying at in Cambridge.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
CAMBRIDGE — Every morning, when the emergency shelter the state set up in a former courthousecloses
during working hours, some of the newly arrived migrants and other
homeless families staying there begin a day of wandering.
Some
walk around, from grocery stores to churches, more than a half-dozen
migrants said. Many are waiting for work authorizations from the federal
government to find jobs, and in the interim, said there aren’t local
programs or activities at the shelter that could keep them busy. So,
with daytime temperatures in the low 30s, they look for anywhere to warm
up.
“Every
morning they kick us out. And it’s cold, and we have no idea where
we’re headed,” said Charilus Charles-Fils, who was walking his daughter
and another child to the nearby Kennedy-Longfellow elementary school
shortly after 7 a.m. “I just drop them at school, and after I’m done, I
just walk around aimlessly until 6 p.m.”
To
be sure, many said they were grateful to have a place to stay at all.
Charles-Fils described his relationship with the shelter, in Haitian
Creole through a translator, as “complicated, very complicated.”
But
in interviews, residents also described filthy conditions inside the
shelter, insufficient care, and a lack of clear communication from
authorities. Most added they would happily move on as soon as theyreceive authorization to work and can find a job.
“Any work,” said Louise Marise St. Firme, who has been sleeping at the courthouse for more than a month. “I’ll do any work.”
Established in December, the shelter provides overnight accommodations, with about 60 familiescurrently
staying there. It shares the former courthouse building with a county
office for the Registry of Deeds, so it’s off-limits during the daytime
hours when the registry office is open, and reopens at 6 p.m., according
to state officials. It is also open on weekends and holidays.
Showers outside the former Middlesex Probate and Family courthouse for migrants sheltering in the building in Cambridge. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
Kevin
Connor, a spokesperson for the Executive Office of Housing and Livable
Communities, said in a statement Wednesday that the “state is working to
expand daytime programing for the families being temporarily sheltered
in Cambridge, and we continue to work to connect them with resources and
services at the Family Welcome Centers and with other community-based
organizations.”
Charles-Fils
said he sometimes pops into a grocery store to warm up, but can’t stay
long without getting workers’ attention. On some days, he heads to
Mattapan, where he’s found a Haitian church where he can step in to warm
up. But with little else to do in that part of town, he said, the trip
is rarely worth it.
Shivering
in a bright red coat zipped up and holding his hood tight around his
face, Charles-Fils said there was “no such thing” as privacy in the
courthouse, noting that more than 100 residents share one sleeping area.
State
officials said the courthouse provides necessary amenities, such as
cots and boxed dinners and breakfasts, for overnight stays and is mainly
designed to keep people inside in a warm place. But they said
administrators are taking resident comments into consideration, and
emphasized that daytime services are available throughout Greater
Boston.
Officials said Wednesday that the state spent $173,000
renovating the former courthouse, adding plumbing, sinks and toilets,
and updates to meet fire safety codes. It’s one of several temporary
overflow sites designed for those waiting for a place in the emergency
shelter program, where officials saythe demand triggered by an influx of migrants has pushed costs to nearly $1 billion a year.
Still, several migrants described difficult conditions at the building.
Loudensky
Odug, 18, said workers shut the lights off around 9 p.m., a few hours
after the shelter reopens, and “everybody goes to bed.” A state
spokesperson confirmed that lights-out is at 9:30 p.m. each night.
Speaking
through a translator on his way to Cambridge Rindge & Latin School,
where he recently enrolled, Odug said the cots leave his body aching.
“It’s
not normal, but it’s OK,” said Odug, who was born in Haiti and has
slept in the shelter for weeks. “We’ve just got to make do.”
State
Representative Mike Connolly said the daytime closure limits the
shelter’s potential usefulness. The Cambridge Democrat said he and
others in the Legislature have been petitioning Secretary of State
William Galvin, whose office oversees the adjoining Registry of Deeds,
to allow migrants to stay on-site 24/7.
“Here
we are, we’re in a very cold part of winter. I definitely don’t really
see the purpose of kicking folks out at an arbitrary time at this
point,” Connolly said.
Some temporary shelters, such as the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex in Roxbury, allow migrants to use the space all day and provide daytime services such as access to caseworkers.
Though
little change has come so far, Connollly said he remains optimistic. He
said the shelter used to close at 7 a.m., but that’s been pushed back
to 9 a.m.
Connolly
said the Cambridge shelter was established in response to increasingly
dire conditions, as the nation’s immigration system fails to keep up
with the influx of migrants. He added that if the courthouse — closed in
2020 — were in better condition, it may not have been vacant and
available for shelter use at all.
“Admittedly
this is not a building designed as a large-scale shelter,” he said.
But, “this is an emergency. It’s not something Massachusetts chose.”
More
than 7,500 families are in emergency shelters across the state,
according to a state spokesperson, leaving few viable options to shelter
new arrivals.
State
officials added that migrants who spend their nights in the courthouse
are able to visit one of the state’s family welcoming centers during the
day, and have received Charlie Cards.
The nearest one is in Allston,
according to state officials. But while that center is less than 3
miles away, it can take travelers up to an hour to get there by public
transit.
Others,
who spoke as they left the shelter around 8:15 a.m., said the space had
too few toilets, with dirt and grime building up with use. A state
spokesperson said there are nine toilets in total, and the site received
a deep clean before opening. The state did not specify how often it’s
been cleaned since.
Though officials gave a tour of the Melnea Cass center
emergency shelter site before it opened, the Cambridge shelter remains
closed to the media. The Executive Office of Housing and Livable
Communities has denied multiple requests by the Globe for a tour since
January.
The temporary shelter also lacks a robust medical team,and
sickness is easily transferred between people sleeping next to one
another, residents said. State officials said sick migrants are referred
to local urgent care sites.
St. Firmesaid that when her daughter became feverish, workers told her to go to a hospital but did not provide additional assistance.
On
Wednesday morning, St. Firme walked her still-sick daughter to school.
The state has partnered with Boston and Cambridge public schools to help
enroll migrant children.
“Even though she’s sick,” St. Firme said, “there’s nowhere else to keep her.”
The
young girl had skipped breakfast that morning, with no appetite for the
bananas and crackers the shelter offered, leaving her groggy.
“It’s
not right. The kid’s supposed to eat before she goes to school,” St.
Firme said in Haitian Creole. Normally, she would make soup for her sick
daughter.
But without access to a kitchen, St. Firme had no such opportunity.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment