Massachusetts allocates nearly $2M to organizations helping immigrants and refugees

Seventeen service providers in Massachusetts will be receiving $1.75 million in public funds to help meet the needs of nearly 800 recently arrived refugee and immigrant families, state officials said Thursday.

The Healey-Driscoll administration and the nonprofit Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition announced the influx of cash will go to organizations assisting with case management and legal aid for an increasing number of migrants fleeing economic strain and political violence in countries like Haiti, Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil.

“Service providers in Massachusetts have been going above and beyond in recent months to connect migrant families arriving in our state with the resources and support they need,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a written statement. “Our administration is proud to partner with the MIRA Coalition on the newly created Immigrant Assistance Services program and to provide additional funding to these organizations to support the important work they do for our communities.”

The MIRA Coalition, New England’s largest immigrant rights nonprofit, will soon sub-grant out the funding to other organizations. Beneficiaries include the International Institute of New England, the Brazilian Workers Center, Boston Health Care for the Homeless, Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts, La Colaborativa in Chelsea and the Justice Center of Southeast Massachusetts.

Liz Sweet, executive director of the MIRA Coalition, told GBH News that the funding will help families currently eligible for state emergency shelter enroll in benefits, schools and child care programs.

“We’re really looking forward to seeing these organizations receive funding for work that they often have been doing, but sometimes with really minimal resources,” she said. “Housing certainly is a real challenge here in Massachusetts."

The International Institute of New England says it will be providing training and support around case management.

“What the Institute is doing specifically is creating and training other providers on best practices in case management and building out a database and data system for all of the providers,” said Alexandra Weber, a senior vice president for the organization. She said they hope this will help organizations track and keep better records related to immigrant needs and what is provided.

Some providers told GBH News that the state funding is appreciated — but not nearly enough to meet the need.

The Immigrant Family Services Institute, based in Mattapan, is receiving almost $65,000 to aid its efforts in helping Haitian migrants. But Executive Director Geralde Gabeau says this money is only a “drop in the ocean” for the thousands of immigrants they seek to help each month.

“Being the organization serving the largest Haitian group of new immigrants and having five different offices across the state, $64,000 is not even one week’s worth of payroll for us,” she said.

Gabeau says her organization has what it calls a “one-stop-shop” for helping parents enroll their children in school, take English and computer classes, and find employment, housing, and work authorization. Gabeau estimates helping each person costs the organization at least $1,200.

In May alone, she said, the organization assisted 4,000 Haitians arriving in Massachusetts, some from the border with humanitarian parole, seeking asylum, as well as people coming from other states.

Many Haitians have recently found shelter in the emergency room lobby of Boston Medical Center, and rely on a network of nonprofits to create piecemeal temporary housing. The Department of Housing and Community Development is continuing to expand the number of hotels it makes available for unhoused families, including the addition of a Salem State University dorm complex.