Homeless group Mutual Aid Monday responds to increasing migrant population in Denver
Another cold night in Denver meant organizations such as Mutual Aid Monday were back on the streets helping the community, but on Monday night, the group saw an influx of another unhoused population — migrants.
Migrants arriving in Denver are now resorting to services established for the homeless, as the city grapples with how to continue providing for the thousands of migrants arriving in the city. Mutual Aid Monday organizers said, every week, more and more migrants are trickling in for help.
"I actually found some on the street during the storm, the big storm, and they had light jackets on, no gloves," said Kelsang Virya, one of the founders of the organization. "This week we were just inundated with a lot of folks, and I was walking down the line talking, and none of them could speak English."
It's unclear how migrants are getting connected to resource groups such as Mutual Air Monday, but organizers believe it may be word of mouth alone. Mutual Air Monday organizer Jess Wiederholt said many migrants require basic necessities, including coats and closed-toed shoes, so they question what the city is providing migrants with.
"Normally, we have about 300 people, but tonight, there was about 400 plus, and they kind of all came at once, and it was toward the end of the resources that we had, so it was really hard," Wiederholt explained. "And we were trying to scramble and make sure that we had food for everyone, and a lot of folks were needing things to keep warm."
Overnight Sunday, 225 more migrants arrived in the city. It's the largest group to arrive in Denver at once so far.
Mikayla Ortega, the communications manager for Denver's Office of Emergency Management, told CBS News Colorado that, right now, the city is not pushing migrants to the streets, but added that, "without federal support, we are limited in what we can do. We are continuing to strategize how to help migrants as they enter the country while working to mitigate capacity challenges we're experiencing at our congregate shelters."
Help for another unhoused population is now bringing concerns for those such as Wiederholt who are on the front lines.
"I'm worried," Wiederholt said. "I know that our unhoused community was already stretched, and then, so we add in another community, and this is going to be a long winter."
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