Photo: Town of Middleborough
MIDDLEBOROUGH, Mass. (WBZNewsRadio) - The town of Middleborough has been busy, working endlessly to support some 75 unsheltered migrants from Haiti that have been housed in a local hotel within the community.
"Last Friday, on very short notice from the state, we received notice that several unsheltered migrants from Haiti were being sent to be housed at a hotel here in town," Town Manager James McGrail said. "When they arrived, many of them had nothing but the clothes on their backs, including t-shirts and flip flops. None of them speak English. Many of them have young children and they were lacking any basic necessities, things we take for granted like toothbrushes, socks, water, diapers and baby formula. Since their arrival, we have been working around the clock to secure donations of critical supplies and necessities for these families in need."
Currently a little more than 20 migrant families have been placed in the hotel, nearly half of them are young children. Massachusetts is a "right to shelter state," which gives families a guarantee they can be housed in temporary shelters instead of being forced to stay on the streets.
"These people all want the same things that we want for our families, a roof over their heads, food in their stomachs, clothes on their backs and a safe and welcoming learning environment for their children," Town Manager McGrail said. "We're doing our best to help provide them with what we can and I want to say how extremely proud I am of our Town employees who have all rallied around what we consider to be a humanitarian crisis here in Middleborough."
The town's health department has been working with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to make sure each family and each individual gets the healthcare needed, including vaccinations for children. The Middleborough Police department has provided an officer who speaks Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Spanish and English, to help work with families as a translator between migrants and town officials.
"These are vulnerable people who have been sent by the state to live here in Middleborough and none of them speak English," Chief Joseph Perkins said. "As part of our effort to make their situation more comfortable, I have assigned Officer Ribeiro to help with translating where needed and he's been doing a great job so far."
Last week, Middleborough's Local Emergency Planning Committee met to discuss and create a plan to manage the current situation and give these migrants the help from the municipal level as well. The Committee, which is comprised of several town department heads, received a large donation of clothes and toiletries from a Plymouth Savers.
For many youngsters, they'll be starting school at Middleborough Public Schools next week. School officials have been working to make sure there are translation services and are providing school supplies for class.
Earlier this week, school officials conducted a "test bus ride" for children traveling between the hotel and their classrooms. For many of the youngsters, it was the first time they'd ever been on a school bus.
Despite the donations and preparations underway, these families and children remain in need. The Town is looking for toiletries and winter clothes in all sizes.
Anyone wishing to help or donate financially or through various crucial supplies is encouraged to reach out to the Family Resource Coordinator Meghan Quirke at mquirke@middleboro.k12.ma.us
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App | TikTok