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DENVER (KDVR) — It has been one year since thousands of migrants began to arrive in Denver.
No migrant was turned away, and that policy has cost $33.6 million since last December, according to the city. The state has pitched in $3 million so far.
A year later, the city is still lobbying the federal government to step up too.
“We’ve received some money from the federal government, more is assured,” said Jon Ewing, with Denver Human Services. “They’ve said they will cover it.”
One year after the first buses arrived in Denver, more than 30,000 migrants have been through the city, and at great cost.
“Transportation for people who came to Denver never intending on being in Denver,” Ewing said. “We’ve spent millions on food to provide people with food, day in, day out.”
The biggest expense has been shelter, forcing the city to limit how long migrants can stay and forcing many, including families, into tent encampments on the streets.
“With shelter comes staffing,” Ewing said. “You can’t have a shelter without more staffing.”
Feeding, clothing and helping migrants find work
Denver Human Services has managed the operation that started at recreation centers, eventually moving to hotels around town. A lull in the number of migrants arriving in November allowed them to take some families in on bitterly cold nights.
“We’re going to have to, at some point, begin discharging people again,” Ewing said. “It’s not going to be tomorrow or anything along those lines.”
There is progress on one issue that’s felt stagnant at times: getting eager migrants in a position to get federal work permits.
“(The city) is starting to get people signed up for some clinics. We’ve had some nonprofits come in,” Ewing said.
Bureaucracy assures an investment of time and money to get that done for some migrants.
“We have another nonprofit that has been helping to cover some of those fees,” Ewing said.
Throughout the year, groups of folks volunteered their time to get supplies to families in encampments.
“You have to have shoes, you have to have a coat, you’ve got to have more than one pair of pants. If you’re living out in a tent, you need a tent,” Andrea Ryall said.
Ryall helped start a group on social media that has gathered donations and supplies for migrants. Ryall’s group holds donation events every Tuesday and Thursday at Park Church.
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