DENVER — The Western Motor Inn at Vasquez Boulevard and Interstate 70 hasn't been open in months, but there isn't one empty room, according to owner Yong Prince.
In fact, she said it's likely more than one person lives behind each of her 50 inn doors. She estimated there could be 400 migrants living under her roof in total.
"They move in empty hand," Prince said. "So I have to feed them. I didn't give them room under contract. Motel almost empty. They just walk in, themselves, say 'This is my room.' I don't know who they are."
Prince might not know every person using her inn as a temporary shelter, but she said each person plays an important role in her life, as she does in each of theirs.
"Mama, they call me, everybody call me Mama," Prince said.
She said it began three months ago when the first group of migrants showed up at her door.
"Seventeen people wanted three rooms, and I say 'I'm not going to charge you,'" Prince said.
The new endeavor couldn't have come at a more divine time, she said. She had been prepared to sell and vacate the building and move back to Korea.
"God saved me a flight," Prince said.
Prince also had been grieving the loss of her son, who passed away last year. She originally bought the inn as a way to spend more time with him.
"I was lonely almost two years after he passed away," she said.
Now, she's taking care of all-new children.
"They walked in, and they feel like my family," Prince said. "I'm happy. We love each other, we help each other."
Rayza Quiñones made her way to the United States after leaving Venezuela for Texas five months ago. She moved to Denver and, eventually, into the Western Motor Inn in October.
"That was a coincidence of God," Quiñones said in Spanish, describing how she came across the blessing of opportunity.
She and her husband have been trying to find work and build a better life for themselves and their three children, still in Venezuela. She said she's endured many hardships since leaving her home and family behind, including spending seven days in an immigration cell with only her documents and phone and having to sleep on the streets.
But in finding Prince, Quiñones said she stumbled upon an angel.
"Mama for us is protective," Quiñones said. "I think she's an angel that came down from heaven because I think God has a purpose for us and her. She was the one who opened the doors, and we were the ones to color her life."
In addition to providing rooms, Prince also cooks two to three meals a day. She said she will go to the store to buy food to cook, especially meat. She said she wants to makes sure her 'family" is full and ready to seek out work.
Quiñones said she is prepared for any work that may become available.
"I'm a fast learner," Quiñones said. "I can clean homes, work in an office, do any kind of admin work."
A profitable future beyond the inn is exactly what Prince is hoping for.
"I hope they can go on in life," Prince said.
She said she didn't think this is how she'd be operating her business when she took over 17 years ago, but it's hard to see a life where she isn't taking care of migrants.
"I love Jesus, my life," Prince said. "So I'm ready to do this."
As much as she loves the people she serves, it does come at a cost. She said the inn's new buyer has been giving her $50,000 a month to support current migrants.
However, the buyer won't be continuing payments for the migrant shelter, so Prince is taking on the financial burdens to keep the inn afloat. Supporters of Prince's mission organized a GoFundMe to help raise money for inn operations.
Prince is also looking to invest in a property in Lakewood to keep helping migrants once they're required to leave the inn. She said she'll need to close on that property by February.
She said some people will pay her back with $50 or $200 when they're able, but she doesn't expect it.
"As long as everybody's happy," Prince said. "Money's not mine. It comes from Him. That's my attitude. I'm happy what he did to me, that's it."
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