Austin’s Grace and Peace Church and other West Side churches accepted 31 migrants and asylum-seekers sheltering at the 25th police district Monday, the first time it has done so in that area.
As of that morning, no others remained outside the station.
Senior Pastor John Zayas and others with Unity Initiative, a coalition of 17 churches, transported the migrants to shelters at the Leclaire Avenue church, and at People’s Church of the Harvest, Dunamis Life Church, and Elston. The group aims to provide rapid assistance to migrants in need during the ongoing crisis.
Associate Pastor John Eric Zayas Jr., his son, explained that the program’s primary goal is to help migrants transition from emergency situations to self-sufficiency within 60 days by assisting them in securing long-term housing.
“Most of our churches have workforce development, so they’ll be part of the church’s program to begin to work with them,” Zayas said.
Upon arrival at the churches, an intake process assesses the needs and skill sets of the migrants.
“When we’re talking about housing a family we’re not talking about housing one family into a three bedroom, $1,600 a month apartment,” Zayas Jr. said. “We’re talking about housing multiple families in one location to the point of when they become self-sufficient and are able to financially provide for themselves, they can then venture out on their own.”
To date, the program has provided shelter to over 350 migrants and continues to work towards housing more individuals and clearing all police districts. Zayas Jr. mentioned that they are expecting to receive $250,000 from the city as the first wave of funding.
The Unity Initiative aligns with the church’s ongoing mission to assist migrants, the pastor said. When Venezuelan migrants began arriving from Texas in August 2022, the church served as a processing center, providing toiletries, helping relocate individuals to shelters, and organizing a food pantry in partnership with the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
Initially intended to be a temporary relief for a day or two, the church’s role evolved into providing actual shelter.
Although the Unity Initiative had cleared some of the Police Districts there are still many of the ones where people sleeping outside in tents during a winter month awaiting to be relocated to shelter. There are more than 20,000 migrants in Chicago.
“We have a great partnership with the city and we’re going to move forward,” Zayas said.
To be part of the Unity Initiative system, migrants must have arrived by bus so the city can keep a record and automatically include them in the program. Individuals who arrive from different states independently must register for the program at a police station to be on the city’s radar, Zayas explained.