PORTLAND, Maine — As of Friday, donations to help asylum seekers reached a high of $400,000. That number continues to grow, as do the number of families entering Portland's Expo Center. Eight people came to the Expo Center Thursday night, making the total count of people 228 Friday morning.
Families started showing up to Portland's doors on Sunday, June 9th, with 39 families arriving in one night.
Communications Director Jessica Grondin says that Portland hasn't received further word from Texas as to whether more families were en route.
Grondin says the focus this week and in the coming weeks is to phase the families out of the Expo Center and into permanent housing situations in the Greater Portland Area.
In the interim, the families staying at the Expo Center will continue to get access to three meals a day, shower and laundry facilities, plus legal assistance and enrichment activities for the kids.
"The families are welcome to come and go during the day and many of them have been. When you're there when it's not mealtime, you're noticing that the numbers are lower and that everybody is coming back at the end of the night. So yeah, they're exploring their new community," said Grondin.
The most urgent need when it comes to asylum seekers continues to be monetary donations, to assist in the process of finding families permanent housing. Find information on how you can help here.