DENVER — Denver leaders are asking local organizations to step up to provide shelter for migrants as the numbers continue to grow.
The City and County of Denver calls on faith groups, nonprofit organizations and businesses to provide available space that could be used for shelter.
As of Monday, nearly 600 migrants have arrived in Denver over the past several months, the city said.
The city's emergency shelter is housing 153 migrants. Another 48 have been relocated to a church-run shelter, and 52 more arrived at local homeless shelters overnight.
The city said 35 migrants are preparing to connect with family or friends and transition out of the city-managed emergency shelter.
According to the mayor's office, the migrants chose to come to Denver and were not sent here by any government entity.
“Denver is a welcoming city, and we have a strong history of leaning in to assist anyone who is clearly in need,” Mayor Michael Hancock said in a statement. “We have an urgent need for more space to shelter these individuals, and we’re calling on our local organizations to let us know if they can help.”
Organizations that can help with providing facilities, staff, financial support or other resources are asked to contact Denver's Emergency Operations Center.
Monetary donations and individual volunteers are also needed. Donations can be sent to Denver Community Church, the American Friends Service Committee and the Colorado Hosting Asylum Network. Community members who want to volunteer need to be registered and credentialed. Those who are interested should click here.
In addition, a drop-off location for physical donations has been established at Iglesia Ciudad de Dios located at 5255 W. Warren Ave. in Denver. Donations will be accepted on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m.
According to the city, there is a high demand for new adult clothing in small, medium and large sizes with a special need for medium for both men and women. Below is a list of items that are urgently needed:
- Coats (men's small and women's medium.
- Pants (waist 30-33)
- Socks
- Underwear
- Winter apparel (hats, gloves, scarves, boots)
- Children's clothing for ages 10 and younger.
Mayra Juarez Denis with Centro Humanitario, a nonprofit working with the migrants, said this week that some of them are looking for work and to escape danger in their home countries. Most of the people she had spoken to said they were from Venezuela.
The City and County of Denver activated its Emergency Operations Center and Joint Information Center Thursday to help with the response.
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