The Shenandoah County Sheriff’s Office is requesting residents in Strasburg and within a five-mile radius of Indian Run Lane and Coal Mine Road to evacuate due to fire risks, with Signal Knob Middle School serving as a temporary shelter. Pets are allowed on the property but not indoors, and residents are advised to only travel if necessary due to downed powerlines and trees. Page County Emergency Communications Center is also issuing evacuations for specific areas and directing residents to Luray High School.
The new temporary migrant shelter at the Melnea Cass Recreational Complex in Roxbury has sparked both empathy and frustration within the community. Local businesses, such as the Caribbean restaurant Fort Hill Bar and Grill, are providing meals and necessities for the migrants, offering a lifeline after the pandemic. However, the shelter has displaced many community programs, leading to activists seeking a meeting with state officials. Despite the controversy, restaurant owner Norvia Pena, who empathizes with the migrants' situation, is finding comfort in providing meals to those who have also been displaced.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has opened a temporary migrant shelter at the Melnea Cass Recreational Center in Roxbury to accommodate the increasing number of migrant families in the state, stating that there was no other choice. The decision has sparked mixed reactions in the community, with concerns raised about the impact on youth and adult programs at the center. Mayor Michelle Wu acknowledged the difficulty of the decision and pledged to work with the state to ensure all options are considered. The shelter can house up to 400 people and is expected to remain open until May 31, with plans to provide funds for updates to the complex once the shelter is closed.
Four homeless people have died in Anchorage, Alaska, in the past week, highlighting the city's struggle to house its homeless population amid a major winter storm that dropped over 2 feet of snow. This brings the total number of deaths among the homeless in Anchorage to 49 this year, surpassing last year's record of 24 deaths. Despite available shelter beds, factors such as lack of transportation, access to healthcare, confusion, or refusal to go to a shelter may have contributed to the deaths. The city is working on short-term solutions, but the long-term solution lies in building more housing.
A meeting in Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood turned contentious as residents protested against a planned migrant camp that could accommodate over 2,000 migrants. City officials confirmed their intention to construct a temporary shelter on a vacant lot, citing the need to provide an alternative to migrants sleeping outdoors or in police district stations during the approaching winter. Some residents expressed concerns about safety and lack of consultation, while others called for better housing for migrants. The mayor's office did not respond to requests for comment.
A five-story office building in Chicago's Fulton Market area is being considered as a temporary shelter for migrants, according to Alderman Walter Burnett Jr. The 50,000-square-foot building would be used to house families and is one of the latest solutions to address the housing crisis caused by the influx of migrants into the city. The Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications reported that four buses with migrants arrived in the city on Wednesday. The mayor's office is expected to discuss a detailed plan, including costs, with alderpersons on Friday.
Nearly 200 asylum seekers from African countries have been relocated from a temporary shelter in Portland, Maine, to motels in Lewiston and Freeport. The emergency shelter was set up in April after a surge of arrivals, but strained city services and the end of pandemic funding in May led to the closure. The city hopes to move the asylum seekers to the family shelter as slots become available. The costs for motel housing are expected to be around $500,000, with the state contributing a portion of the expenses.
The Smithfield Street shelter in downtown Pittsburgh has closed after staying open longer than usual due to an increased homeless population. The county claims to have found an alternative space for those in need, but some fear that many will return to living on the streets or in tents. The closure comes after months of complaints from downtown business owners and people who work in the area. Some have said they don't feel safe and others have said the area is unsanitary. Council Member Bethany Hallam believes that more can and should be done to fight homelessness and that there is money to solve the problem.
New York City plans to transport migrants who need temporary shelter to Onondaga County next week, despite the county’s emergency order that attempts to ban such transfers. The bus is expected to arrive in the next few days at the Candlewood Suites Syracuse Airport Hotel on South Bay Road in Salina. Onondaga County issued an emergency order that temporarily bans the transfer of migrants into the county and threatens to fine local hotels or motels that temporarily house them. Two other New York counties, Rockland and Orange counties, succeeded in obtaining temporary restraining orders from a judge last week, blocking the migrant transfers.
A former public school on Staten Island is preparing to welcome 300 migrants, with the first dozen arriving on Saturday. Some local politicians have criticized the move, saying that surrounding neighborhoods received little notice and no assurances that the new arrivals were properly vetted. The city is struggling to find housing for migrants, with plans to potentially use a former military airfield in southeast Brooklyn also facing opposition from local politicians.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan to transport willing migrants to other neighboring New York communities ahead of an expected surge of migrants following the expiration of Title 42 next week. The program will provide temporary sheltering in nearby New York counties to single-adult men seeking asylum who are already in the city’s care. The program will launch with two hotels located in Orange Lake and Orangeburg, with the potential to expand. The announcement comes on the heels of an internal briefing memo obtained and first reported by CNN that shed light on a variety of options city officials were weighing to help weather the expected surge.
