How to donate items, volunteer time for migrants in El Paso
With Title 42 set to lift this week, migrant aid organizations in El Paso are calling for donations and volunteers to help with the anticipated rise in people crossing the border.
Title 42 is a pandemic-era public health policy that the Trump and Biden administrations have used to expel migrants from certain countries and deny them the legal right to request asylum at the ports of entry. Local officials are expecting the policy to end at midnight Thursday, when the COVID-19 public health emergency expires.
Mayor Oscar Leeser has asked the public not to donate food or other items to migrants on the streets to discourage them from congregating in public spaces – a message that aid leaders have described as inhumane.
Some migrants have already begun making their way into El Paso without getting processed by border agents, with several hundred people gathering and sleeping on the sidewalks outside Sacred Heart Church and the Opportunity Center for the Homeless in recent weeks.
In response, Leeser issued a state of emergency that went into effect on May 1 – the second disaster declaration he’s issued since December when the U.S. Border Patrol dropped migrants off on the streets in frigid temperatures. The situation prompted community leaders in El Paso and West Texas to plead with President Joe Biden and U.S. senators for immigration reform measures.
Most migrants hail from Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean. For many migrants, El Paso is just a temporary stay, so humanitarian organizations and the Catholic Diocese are sheltering and feeding people until they can leave for their intended destination. One faith-based organization, Annunciation House, also has invited an attorney to walk people through the process of applying for asylum.
While biding their time in El Paso, some migrants in El Paso have begun volunteering as a way to give back to the community. Here are ways you can get involved with organizations helping migrants:
Annunciation House offers shelter, support
This volunteer-led organization provides shelter and support to migrants and refugees. The organization takes monetary donations and needs volunteers. Short-term volunteers from outside of town must commit to a minimum of two weeks of service. Local volunteers do not have a minimum time commitment.
Donate at annunciationhouse.org/donate/ or apply to volunteer online at annunciationhouse.org/get-involved/volunteer-info/
Sacred Heart Church offers meals, shelter
The parish in South El Paso at 602 S. Oregon St. is providing meals and letting people spend the night in its shelter. The church is seeking volunteers every day during the following times:
5 p.m. to 9 p.m. – Welcome guests and show them to their sleeping areas; serve dinner; clean; coordinate showers; hand out toiletries, clothing and medicine.
8 p.m. to 9 a.m. – Ensure men are separate from single women and children; work with night coordinator to address guests’ medical, travel and other needs.
4:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. – Make coffee; set up serving station; cook and serve breakfast; clean and prepare to-go meals.
People can sign up to volunteer online at sacredheartelpaso.org/new-page-3. The church’s website also lists needed supplies with the drop-off location and times. You also can make a monetary donation via PayPal.
New Life Faith Center helps with lunch, water, other items
Pastor Timothy Perea and volunteers are providing lunch and water to migrants who are outside Sacred Heart Church. Perea said along with food, basic first aid items and feminine hygiene products would be helpful to hand out.
People can leave a message with Perea at 915-843-5724 to get involved. You can make a donation via CashApp to $newlifefaithcenter1. Perea asks that people indicate “migrant aid” in the donation description and he can provide photos of the purchases made from donations. New Life Faith Center is located 14721 Bocalusa Ave. in far east El Paso.
Keepers Kitchen: Helping Hands helps with food, water
This group of volunteers has served meals and handed out water bottles to migrants camped outside Sacred Heart Church, which has reached capacity. The nonprofit feeds about 600 to 700 people twice a week, but needs donations to keep this up, said group leader Kerry Vogel. People who wish to donate food, time or money can text 909-856-0537. You can also write checks to Keepers Kitchen: Helping Hands, 11416 Ed Merrins Drive, El Paso, Texas 79936.
El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank assembles meals
El Paso’s food bank needs volunteers to help assemble meals for migrants. The nonprofit is putting together sack lunches to distribute in Downtown El Paso and other locations twice a day. Most volunteer work will take place at the El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank warehouse in the Lower Valley at 9541 Plaza Circle. Other volunteer work will take place in the streets to distribute meals.
Sign up for a shift online at elpasoansfightinghunger.org/volunteer. Those who can’t donate time can donate money at elpasoansfightinghunger.org/donate.
Border Refugee Assistance Fund
The Catholic Diocese of El Paso and the Hope Border Institute, a faith-based organization, started the Border Refugee Assistance Fund to meet the humanitarian needs of migrants stuck in limbo in Juárez. Mexico’s government has agreed to accept Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan migrants that U.S. immigration officials deport after Title 42 restrictions end.
Visit the diocese’s website at elpasodiocese.org/border-refugee-assistance-fund.html to find out how to donate by check or online.
Hope Border Institute’s health clinic also takes doctors and medical students who want to volunteer at Leona Vicario, a migrant shelter in Juárez.
Rescue Mission of El Paso lists needed items
This faith-based charity has more than 200 guests at its homeless shelter and provides an average of 135 meals a day at its outreach center, according to the Rescue Mission of El Paso's website. Donations needed most are:
Cold and flu medicine for children and adults
Ibuprofen for children and adults
Backpacks
Laundry detergent
Travel-sized toiletries, especially shampoo, body wash and lotion
Shaving razors
Walking/tennis shoes, especially for men’s sizes 8-10
Bath towels
Food, including meat and dairy products
People can bring or mail donations to 221 N. Lee St. in El Paso. Visit the Rescue Mission’s website if you have additional questions.
Opportunity Center for the Homeless faces meal crisis
This nonprofit organization serves people who are experiencing homelessness in El Paso, including migrants. The center in South-Central El Paso has run out of space and some 450 migrants set up camp in an alleyway last week. John Martin, the organization’s director, told El Paso Matters that the center was struggling to provide three meals a day and would have to resort to just one meal a day and snacks if more assistance didn’t come through.
Learn more online about how to donate funds or goods at homelessopportunitycenter.org/ways-of-giving.
Disclosure: El Paso Matters CEO Robert Moore is a board member for El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank. Moore was not involved in the reporting or editing of this story.
This report originally was published on El Paso Matters.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: How to donate items, volunteer time for migrants in El Paso
