As Massachusetts deals with a surge of migrants in need of shelter, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church opened its doors, but it now says dozens of people need to leave.
An East Boston church that recently took in dozens of migrants who have nowhere else to go says they will soon have to leave.
An East Boston church that recently took in dozens of migrants who have nowhere else to go says they will soon have to leave.
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Massachusetts has been dealing with a surge of migrants in need of shelter. Earlier this month, Our Savior's Lutheran Church opened its doors to help.
There was concern at the time that the solution would not be a long-term one, and now, church leaders say those people will need to find somewhere else to stay by Tuesday.
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"This church is only half the size of the people we're sponsoring," Pastor Don Nanstad said Wednesday.
The church is housing Haitian, Dominican and Venezuelan families, with about 40 migrants staying there. But with the number of families growng, the church says it can no longer support the influx of migrants walking through its doors.
"It's just going to be miserable to let them go," said Nanstad. "I just love these people."
The majority of the church's leadership who speak Spanish and Creole plans to leave in the coming months.
"That leaves the third active person -- me," said Nanstad. "No Spanish, none at all."
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The loss of support from local organizations like the Boston Immigration Justice Accompaniment Network would also limit medical and mental health support for families.
"This is actually not central to their core mission, so they can't continue to do something like this," Nanstad explained."So they're going to pull back - which means we will receive somewhat -- quite a bit less support."
The church offered its services after the state's shelter regulations limited migrants and homeless families living in shelters to only stay for five days.
Nanstad says he is communicating with about 30 Pentecostal churches in East Boston in an effort to get each to house about three or four families. In the meantime, after Tuesday's deadline, he expects the families to end up back around the Wollaston MBTA station in Quincy.
