Mary Byrne
Belmont resident Amy Rosenstein’s car was packed — filled with items for donation that would be delivered to Logan International Airport, where dozens of migrants and other unhoused individuals have been staying overnight — when a friend called to say they were on their way with more to contribute.
“I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’ll get this into my car,’” she recalled. “But I said, ‘We’ll figure it out.’”
Related Stories
- Local Volunteers Provide ‘Friendship, Support’ to Refugees
- Ukrainian Family Facing Relentless Challenges
Last summer, up to 40 eligible families per day sought emergency shelter from Massachusetts, a right-to-shelter state. Since the capacity limit was reached late last year, the average has decreased to around 20 eligible families per day. These numbers include both recently arrived migrants and longtime Massachusetts residents.
“[Gov. Maura Healey] has been clear that this is a federal problem that requires a federal solution from Congress, including stronger border security and more funding for states,” Karissa Hand, a spokesperson for the governor, said in a statement. “Massachusetts has gone above and beyond to address this challenge — helping thousands of immigrants apply for work authorizations, placing hundreds in jobs, setting a capacity limit and time limits on shelter stays — but we long ago reached our limit, and it is way past time for Congress to step up.”
According to various news reports, more than a hundred of these families and individuals have found overnight refuge in Terminal E at Logan Airport. MassPort spokesperson Jennifer Mehigan said this has been the reality since about June of last year.
“We coordinate with the state to transport the migrants back to the welcome centers in the morning,” Mehigan said. “But while they’re at the airport … we make staff available who speak Haitian, Creole, and Spanish.”
While Rosenstein was vaguely aware of the situation at Logan from media coverage over the winter, it wasn’t until a few weeks ago — when she saw social media posts from her friend, Maya Aklanj Jamaleddine — that she saw a way to get involved.
“When I saw pictures [Jamaleddine] was posting and hearing about what she was doing, I thought it was something I’d … try to help out with if I could,” she said.
Since last June, Jamaleddine, a Melrose city councilor and former member of the Melrose Human Rights Commission, has been coordinating a group effort to collect food and other essential items to bring to the people at Logan Airport.
At least three nights a week, the group makes their deliveries.
“I am an immigrant,” said Jamaleddine, who moved to the United States from Lebanon. “Going [to Logan] and seeing the people … [I could not] go back home … and sleep knowing that someone I can get to and help is in need of a pillow or a blanket, or milk.”
Since then, Jamaleddine, with the help of a few other organizers and many volunteers, has collected food, snacks, fruits, juice, milk, clothes, toys, air mattresses, blankets, and pillows.
Donation Location
According to Jamaleddine, the state has reached out to her about directing donations to a welcome center rather than directly to the airport.
Mehigan, too, emphasized that MassPort is asking individuals and organizations not to drop donations off directly at the airport. First and foremost, she said, the airport “is not a shelter,” noting various organizations have reached out about bringing donations to Logan. State agencies, instead, should be contacted, such as the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, which coordinates resources, shelter, food, and other needs of the migrants.
“That’s wrong,” Jamaleddine said in response. “Those people, they are hungry, they’re sick; they’re thirsty. They are tired; they’re cold. … For someone to come and tell us and not to support or give them donations, that’s such a disgrace.”
She said while many of the people are migrants from other countries, some are also long-term residents of Massachusetts.
Though most of the collection happens at Jamaleddine’s home, the effort expands beyond the borders of Melrose. She’s had donations come from Wakefield, Arlington, Cambridge, Somerville, and Medford.
A Belmont Network
In Belmont, Rosenstein has called on her own network of family and friends to donate snacks, bedding, and toys for children. Over the last few weeks, she’s brought several carloads of supplies to Melrose.
“People have been really generous,” Rosenstein said. “People have dropped off so many things; it’s been really nice to see that. I do think the general feeling is, ’How could this be going on?’”
She recalled her initial delivery to the airport, where she saw dozens of people on blankets along the edges of the corridor.
“I kind of couldn’t really believe it,” she said. “It’s a little bit overwhelming when you go in. … You want to give things to everybody. I was just like, ‘I really can’t believe this is how people are trying to get by at this time.’”
When they arrived, Rosenstein recalled, a group of recently arrived people were without pillows and blankets.
“I think [Jamaleddine] called everyone she knew,” Rosenstein said. “And she found someone who could bring blankets and pillows to those people, just so they could have the most basic things.”
“I just feel like it’s a really immediate need,” said Rosenstein. “It’s heartbreaking to think about people who have gone through a lot to get here.”
[…] Story continues […]