CHICAGO (CBS) – Many of the migrants who recently arrived in Chicago are in need of basic supplies.
CBS 2's Andrew Ramos found out there's a right and wrong way to drop off your donations.
The flow of donations inside the Little Village Community Council is steady. The mounds of clothes have been growing.
It's a system of receiving and then dispersing to the needy that has been in place since August of 2022 when asylum seekers first began arriving in Chicago in droves.
Balthazar Enriques and his team of volunteers at the Little Village Community Council have been working overtime to make sure it's nothing but a welcoming experience for these migrants.
"We are helping them get apartments," he said. "We are helping them with jobs. We are helping enroll their kids in school."
As the city continues to receive the latest wave of migrants being bussed in from Texas, resources are dwindling and the need for essentials is growing, leading many organizations to join forces and lean on each other.
Inside New Life Centers on South Lawndale Avenue, team members are preparing care packages for migrants moving into their new homes. So far, they have housed 20 families. Their long-term goal is getting 125 migrant families into homes a week.
"We are still trying to figure everything out," said Rosario Dominguez, director of marketing at New Life Centers. "We are trying to figure out the best system to get people to donate new items and also storage for everything."
The most frequently requested items are personal hygiene products, like shampoo and deodorant, first aid, medication, and everyday items like blankets, clothes, and shoes.
The one thing the city and these community organizations on the ground doing the work are emphasizing is if you're looking to donate, do not drop off the goods at police stations.
"People I think have good hearts and what we are trying to do here is to connect them to the community and help them be established and help them feel like they have a home now," Dominguez said.
From the far North Side, to the far South Side, there are over two dozen designated donation drop-off sites across the city that are currently accepting goods.
