Yearning To Breathe Free

For years, New York City has been struggling to provide support for tens of thousands of men, women, and children that fall through the cracks and land in homelessness or poverty with little margin to accommodate growing needs in services. Then came the unprecedented pandemic, record high rents, the end of the eviction moratorium, and the current influx of over 40,000 migrants and the City is questioning whether it can keep up. The number of people who are unhoused has reached unprecedented levels not seen since the Great Depression.

New York City is a sanctuary city. The voice of Lady Liberty echoes the words, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” New York’s history is based on welcoming people from other countries searching for a better life. The Mayor is calling upon the federal government to supply more resources to meet the growing needs. He is also openly challenging New York City’s “right-to-shelter” policy by claiming it doesn’t apply to asylum seekers. To that challenge, we at City Relief wholeheartedly disagree.

The City has tried to produce immediate shelter options for the migrant community by converting a cruise terminal into a shelter facility. Construction has also started on hangar-sized tents in parking lots in the Bronx to use as temporary shelters. As the numbers of people stuck in the quicksand of poverty and homelessness grow, we know one thing for sure, the longer they stay there, the harder it is to escape. 

Many regions across the United States are seeing an influx of migrants while simultaneously grappling with pre-existing challenges of homelessness and poverty. Some may wonder how we as a nation are supposed to care for more people with fewer resources. How do you love your neighbor as yourself when you are struggling?

At City Relief, we are doing everything we can to respond to these challenges as the number of guests we care for grows. In 2022 we served almost 10,000 more people compared to 2021, which is the largest increase in the number of guests served in our 34-year history. We’ve expanded our community partnerships to help newly arrived guests looking for a better life find shelter, work, language skills, and even mental health care for the extreme trauma many have experienced in coming here. 

No matter what, City Relief is committed to showing up and helping anyone who crosses our path, no matter who that person might be. I believe the best way to help is not to pit one group of people in need against another. Our hope is that a streamlined pathway to give migrants work authorization can be made available as soon as possible because every single asylum seeker I’ve spoken to desperately wants to contribute. We will continue to practice hospitality and find ways to affirm the dignity of every human being that we meet. Ultimately, we are all in this together. 

If you’d like to partner with us, just reply to our email. We’d love to hear your ideas and how you are making an impact in your community.

Thank you for your faithfulness, 

Josiah