Coachella Valley’s official housing shelter for asylum seekers reaches full capacity
The Valley’s official housing shelter for asylum seekers reached full capacity Monday morning. A retreat center at Our Lady of Soledad Catholic Church in Coachella can house up to 105 refugees, but on Monday, church leaders had to open halls and classrooms to accomodate an additional 100 refugees. Father Guy Wilson calls it a crisis.
“A crisis, because we see no end. The centers on the border may be overwhelmed, so they’re just sending them as quick as they can to other places to be processed,” said Wilson.
More than 200 refugees were brought to Our Lady of Soledad to start processing paperwork and coordinating transportation for refugees to reunite with family in different parts of the U.S.
“These are people who have permission to be here. They come fleeing violence, so they’re asked asylum and their granted it,” Wilson said.
Hector Espinoza is a refugee who arrived in the Coachella Valley Monday. He says last month he was part of a group of protestors, standing up against what he calls a corrupt government in Nicaragua. After protesting, he went home. When he woke up the next morning, he walked outside to see his house marked with a circle and an ‘X’. He tells News Channel 3’s Lauren Coronado that it was only a matter of time before he and his wife would be arrested, tortured, and most likely killed for protesting against the government. He feared his 9-year-old son would be an orphan. It was at that moment he and his family escaped to the U.S. The Espinoza family was taken to the Galilee Center in Mecca.
“We give them clothes. We give them the three hot meals, we let them shower and do their laundry,” said Claudia Castorena, cofounder of the Galilee Center.
In addition to those services, volunteers at both facilities, the Galilee Center and Our Lady of Soledad Church, process paperwork, reach out to asylum seekers’ family or sponsors, and coordinate transportation to their final destination, where they’ll face an immigrtion judge.
“As bad off as we are with our immigration system, I don’t think these families are going to have a day in court for months and months, maybe even a year. So somethings gotta shake lose,” said Wilson.
Both shelters are in need of donations, inlcuding; small clothing for women, children and men, undergraments, toiletries, towels, food, beverages, and volunteers. Call the Galilee Center at (760) 396-9100 or drop by their facility at 66101 Hammond Rd, Mecca, CA 92254. Or you can help Our Lady of Soledad Catholic Church, (760) 398-5577, 52525 Oasis Palm Ave, Coachella, CA 92236.
