Massachusetts social workers ‘at breaking point’ over explosion of migrant families

Massachusetts services are said to be at a breaking point amid a surge of migrant families in West Springfield.

Social worker Jackie Willemain, 44, told the Boston sphere her office has been overwhelmed by the needs of the new residents, who are largely staying in shelters in the community of about 29,000 residents.

Schools in the area have reportedly requested supplies such as wipes, underwear and pants for the homeless migrant and refugee students.

Willemaine said her workload has increased fivefold in the past two years – with more than half of the students coming from migrant families.

A 13-year-old student reportedly suffered from headaches because she squinted to see the board, but was afraid to tell her mother that she was afraid glasses would be too expensive, even though she qualified for one. free glasses.

The number of English learners at the Massachusetts school grew by almost a fifth between 2022 and 2024, to about 16,000 students.

Many of the migrant children come from struggling countries like Venezuela and Haiti and have never received formal education or had their education interrupted by war or long journeys to the US. According to Willemaine, some had never held a pencil or sat at a desk.

The West Springfield district, with about 4,000 students, has received more than $2.2 million of the $46 million in emergency aid the state has given to school districts.

It has hired more English teachers and another liaison for homeless families to keep up with the newcomers.

However, the aid the West Springfield district receives amounts to only $104 per student per day – an amount that social workers say is not nearly enough.

Although Massachusetts is more than 2,000 miles from the southern border, it has seen about 50,000 new arrivals since January 2021. Migrants at the La Colaborativa day shelter in Chelsea, Massachusetts, are pictured

State officials have sent dozens of migrant families to West Springfield, where they are being housed in hotels and motels converted into shelters.

The district received a large group of migrants in October 2022, most of whom were fleeing violence in Haiti.

The city’s mayor, William Reichelt, told the Globe that state officials never informed local authorities of their plan to send the families to West Springfield.

The influx of migrant families has led some, such as councilor Daniel O’Brien, to lobby against providing additional resources to the migrants.

O’Brien tried unsuccessfully to cut $1 million from the school budget earlier this year. He said his “constituents are tired, angry, and tired of being dumped.”

Haitian migrants are assisted by staff from the Immigrant Families Services Institute in Boston

Immigrant populations have put pressure on schools in many U.S. communities as the Western Hemisphere deals with several humanitarian and political crises in countries such as Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba.

Although Massachusetts is more than 2,000 miles from the southern border, it has seen about 50,000 new arrivals since January 2021.

Some joined relatives, others sought work in Boston, Worcester, Springfield and other major cities.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, a Democrat, joined eight colleagues from other migrant-affected states in January in asking the White House and Congress for action at the border and billions of additional dollars to keep services running.