Martha's Vineyard homeless advocate says migrants there will eventually have to move 'somewhere else’

 

 Martha's Vineyard homeless advocate says migrants there will eventually have to move 'somewhere else’

The latest place where migrants are being sent by Republican governors in an effort to draw attention to the southern border is Martha's Vineyard. However, a homeless coordinator there said that the island doesn't have the resources to help them long-term and that they will eventually have to move "somewhere else."

Lisa Belcastro discussed the local attitude to the recently arriving refugees while speaking to the media on Thursday.

"We don't have the services, and we certainly don't have homes, to take care of 50 immigrants," she said. "Not everyone who lives and works here can be housed here."

She made her comments the day after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sent two planes delivering 50 migrants to the island off the coast of Massachusetts, which is mostly a summer retreat for the affluent, and sparked an on-the-spot response from local politicians.

According to the governor's communications director, Taryn Fenske, "states like Massachusetts, New York, and California will better facilitate the care of these individuals who they have invited into our country by incentivizing illegal immigration through their designation as sanctuary states' and support for the Biden administration's open border policies."

According to Sue Diverio, executive director of Harbor Homes, a shelter assisting in bolstering resources to care for the migrants, many of whom are from Venezuela, the arrival of migrants came as a surprise to everyone.

Dealing with immigrant populations is nothing new to us, but she added that when a plane lands unexpectedly, "it kind of throws an additional level of crisis intervention into it." "Refugees arrived unexpectedly, without a doubt."

"She said the facility serves 125 people who are chronically homeless each year and often works with immigrants from Jamaica and Brazil. According to Divero, a significant portion of the island's homeless problem is related to affordable housing.

According to Belcastro, the neighborhood's reaction to the migrants has been favorable. She saw that the migrants are seeking employment rather than begging for handouts.

Everyone has approached me and said, 'I want a job,'" she remarked. "Not a single individual has requested assistance. They are not requesting anything in particular, such as money or clothing."

One man, she recalled, had inquired about where he could board a ferry to the mainland and search for employment to support his family.

According to Belcastro, the migrants are being exploited as "pawns" in a "political game."

They deserve better treatment than they are receiving because they are people, she remarked. "They require care, and we must assist them."

Representative Martha's Vineyard, Dylan Fernandes, shared that immigrants are receiving meals and going to church in Spanish.

"A community has come together to support immigrant families and children. This is America at its finest "On Thursday, he tweeted.