City of Denver focuses on food and shelter for incoming migrants
More buses that are filled with migrants from the U.S. border have arrived in Denver.
"When it's not nine buses a day, it's four buses a day, it's five buses a day. The pace is pretty unrelenting," said Jon Ewing, a spokesman for Denver Human Services. "A couple of weeks ago, we were at around 1200 people in shelter capacity. Right now we're more than 2500. It's doubled in around two weeks."
CBS News Colorado has been covering the migrant crisis closely since it began last winter.
The city is now focusing on providing these latest migrant groups with food and a place to stay while volunteers also provide medical assistance.
"We're mainly utilizing hotels right now, and they're staffed by city staff and to an extent, State of Colorado employees as well," said Ewing.
CBS News Colorado reporter Gabriela Vidal reported this week that the city has changed its policy on the length of stay for migrants.
Starting Wednesday, any new adult migrant arriving in Denver will only be given shelter for 14 days, instead of 21. Migrant families with children, however, will have 37 days; seven more than previously allotted.
Ewing says the migrants are eager to strike out on their own.
"It is amazing how quickly they find work. It's amazing that they're working within a day or two," said Ewing.
The city is also taking in donations ahead of the winter which includes scarves, socks and gloves, to help support incoming migrants. Donations can be delivered to the Richard T. Castro Human Services Center at 1200 N. Federal Blvd in Denver.
"We're concerned about that first snow. We want to make sure that we have resources for individuals, everything that you might take off your shelves to get ready for the winter. We need that, too," said Ewing.
