MIAMI, United States. – After the massive arrival of Cuban migrants in South Florida, the Rescue Churchin Hialeahhas become a place of refuge for many nationals of the Island, who were fleeing the acute economic crisis and the lack of freedoms in Cuba, reported this week the Local 10 News channel.
In that connection, the church has been providing assistance to Cuban migrants who, once settled in the United States, struggle to find work and affordable housing.
Three-year-old Daniel Tomayo is one of the children who have come to the church along with his mother, Daneilis Tamayo Batista, and his two brothers, Isabel Bembow Tamayo and Delmis Tomayo. Batista, who worked in a church ministry in Cuba, has been struggling to enroll his children in school and find work and housing.
For its part, Iglesia Rescate has been working with Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami to provide temporary shelter for Cuban migrants.
Peter Routsis-Arroyo, executive director of Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of Miami, told Local 10 News that the program to help migrants includes arrangements with extended-stay motels to prevent people from sleeping in churches.
The administrative pastor of Iglesia Rescate said that they have been receiving migrants for the past year and that, at their peak, they had 29 people in their compound. Currently, the church houses 12 Cuban migrants seeking help finding work and housing.
“A year and a half ago, when this really started to pick up and before we set up extended-stay motel arrangements, we had some churches with people sleeping in their sites,” Routsis-Arroyo said. “We’ve really been able to put a program in place to avoid that as much as possible,” she added.
Iglesia Rescate and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami are also working to enroll children in school, a top priority for migrants. To obtain temporary refuge in one of the four classrooms of the church, the migrants must first look for work.
In that sense, church leaders have asked for the help of the community to help Cubans find work and housing. They need business owners with job opportunities and homeowners with affordable rental units. They also need tangible donations, such as air mattresses, blankets, pillows, towels, personal hygiene products and cleaning supplies, they said.
“Support our work in humanitarian assistance and provide short-term help to refugees and migrants in South Florida. We focus on shelter, food and transportation,” Routsis-Arroyo said.
