DETROIT, Mich. (WXYZ) — Freedom House on Detroit’s southwest side serves refugees and asylum seekers from all over the world.
Recently, the organization had a surge in the number of people they help.Now, Freedom House officials are asking for help from the state, the city and community members.
“Our average was about 15 people a week that we were seeing new people arrive,” said Elizabeth Orozco- Vasquez, CEO of Freedom House. “But in most recent days, we’ve have had 16 people arrive in one day.”
Orozco-Vasquez says a few months ago, the organization started to see an influx of people in need.
“We’re seeing people from all over the world including the Congo… we’re seeing people from Uganda still coming through, we’re still seeing people from South America, Venezuela, Columbia,” she said.
An Asylum seeker who wanted to remain anonymous for safety reasons says he is grateful to be staying at Freedom House.
“He says it would be really hard and he would be out on the street because he has nobody here in the U.S.,” Orozco-Vasquez said.
Freedom House is currently over capacity; every room in the house is filled and people are even sleeping on cots in the hallways.
“As we get more new people in, I find that my team has a hard time saying we have no more room,” she added.
Orozco-Vasquez says her team has been working with other shelters to help place the overflow of people who show up on the Freedom House doorstep.
“We are alerting the state as well as the city of Detroit, we’re in communication with them about what we’re seeing,” Orozco-Vasquez said. “I know that the city is trying to open more shelter beds however it’s not enough.”
The Metro Detroit community can also help Freedom House.
“Please donate, and typically I would say bring food but right now we’re seeing people arrive with various needs so right now we would even appreciate even a $5 donation would be great,” she added.
Orozco-Vasquez says she would like to be able to expand Freedom House in the future so they can accommodate more refugees and asylum seekers.
