MAINE, Maine — The journey that many asylum-seekers take to come to the United States for a better life is difficult and dangerous.
While many come through Mexico and wait for the rare chance to cross the border at an official point of entry, others find their own way into the country, hoping not to get caught.
Getting across the border is one thing; having a final destination in the U.S. is another. Over the past few years, for more and more people seeking asylum, that destination has been Maine.
Some of the reasons people choose to leave their countries of origin include persecution of race, religion, nationality, war, violence, political views, crime, gangs, and the list goes on.
Greater Portland Family Promise is a nonprofit that works to help families experiencing homelessness, low-income families, and asylum-seeking families get into a temporary and permanent housing options. Those options these days are scarce or nonexistent, according to Michelle Lamm, the executive director for the nonprofit.
Lamm said most recently they have partnered with the Williston-Immanuel United Church in Portland to house 36 asylum-seekers in its basement area for a year, which has been converted into rooms, has a small playing area, a kitchen, showers, and a small green area for the families to be at.
"I left Uganda in January 2021, and I was running away from political problems that I faced back home in my country, and I was looking for where I could start life over again, after being traumatized by the harsh treatment by the government in my country," Edward, an asylum-seeker in Maine, said. "And it was very, very hard, very hard."
Joao from Angola is a teenager who is going to school in Portland, and his parents are waiting for their work permits to be able to work here in Maine. A process that could take up to two years these days. In the meantime, many of these families rely on general assitance to get by.
"Nous avons marché à (peu près) de 3 ou 4 heures de temps pour arriver à un autre pays. Après ce pays-là, on part pour un autre pays. C'était plus de 10 ou 11 pays que nous avons passé pour arriver ici au Maine."
"We walked almost three or four hours at a time to arrive to another country, after that country, we left for another country. It was more than 10 or 11 countries that we passed through to arrive here in Maine," Joao said.
The pastor Reba Delzell from Williston-Immanuel United Church in Portland said hosting the families at an unused portion of the church is a way to make a real difference to help them with at least temporary housing.
"We began talking about how we could use our building, this is a massive space that we have, a small congregation, much smaller than it used to be back in the hay day, so we started doing conversations around how could we help?" Delzell said.
Williston-Immanuel is part of the UCC United Church of Christ, a group of churches who has been actively helping out asylum-seekers by providing them with a safe space for them to rest and stay.
"The families can kind of get settled, create a temporary home, they have access to showers, laundry, a full kitchen, and can live somewhat normal lives while they search for housing," Lamm expressed.
Joao told NEWS CENTER Maine it is really hard for his parents to sit around and not be able to work until they get their work permits.
"Et y'a été avec le banditisme (dans) mon pays. Il y avait la violence, mais beaucoup de choses anormales là-bas. C'est pour ça que mon père a dit qu'ici ça va pas moyen, parce que moi aussi un jour j'étais battu par des bandous, ils m'ont battu parce que j'étais en train de les passer (dans) la route. Ils m'ont pris mon téléphone, tous mes billets, et ils m'ont battu."
"There was crime in my country, there was violence, but a lot of abnormal things over there. It's for that [reason] that my father said it's not worth it, because one day I was also beaten by thugs, they beat me because I was passing them on the street. They took my phone, all my money, and they beat me," Joao said as he explained why his family decided to flea Angola.
For Edward and his family, after a year of sleeping in a hotel room, they were able to secure a permanent housing unit with Avesta Housing.
"Wow! This is a nice company I think, so I already wanted to know more about Avesta," Edward said with a smile on his face.
Edward is so thankful to Avesta for accepting his application for an apartment that he knew exactly how to give back, now that his work permit got approved.
"And try to enter into the construction. I'm a handyman, but I never had any training before. I was doing things out of my creativity," Edward said.
He is now a maintenance technician for Avesta, after getting a construction certificate with Southern Maine Community College.
"I just enjoy using the tools and working. Sometimes I even forget that I have to go for lunch," Edward said.
Lamm said that's not the case for every asylum-seeking family.
"Greater Portland Family Promise is still receiving a lot of calls from people looking for shelter, and unfortunately we already have a waiting list for our shelter here at Williston-Immanuel, and we are not taking new clients for our case management, so it's really hard knowing that we are maxed out, which I'm sure that a lot of other agencies are, I know that in Portland over 1,000 new Mainers arrived since January, just since the first two or three months of the year, and families are continuing to arrive and at this point I don't even know where to refer people to," Lamm said.
"But for us, because of the hospitality we have received here, we wish to stay and work for Maine so that we can pay back maybe, I don't know," Edward said. "I think Maine is a good place, yeah, it's a good place."
Click here to learn more about Greater Portland Family Promise.