For the Spanish version of this article, click here/Lee aquí la traducción de Daianee
As Denver shuts down four of its 10 migrant shelters, thousands of newcomers are left desperately seeking long-term housing. Permanent solutions are few, leading the city to recently ask rental property owners with vacancies that go for less than $2,000 a month if they would be willing to rent to those in need. But many Denver residents like Rachel Davis, have taken it upon themselves to help during the humanitarian crisis by offering space in their private homes.
“We do long-term rentals and are between tenants right now, so we opened our ADU [Accessory Dwelling Unit] for a month or two till we get a tenant,” Davis said.
From Davis’ ADU in the Whittier neighborhood, 19-year-old Alejandra Vargas and 22-year-old Hender Hernandez recounted their treacherous journey to Denver as if it happened the day before and not seven months ago.
Both Hernandez and Vargas shared details about their journey through six countries and the challenges they faced with their one-year-old son, Thiago. The young couple met while working at a car detailing business in Medellin, Colombia after having migrated separately from Venezuela. After months of experiencing financial strain, they decided to leave and embark on a journey to the U.S., one that Vargas said they would later regret.
“There were more than 5,000 people walking along with us,” Vargas said, speaking in Spanish. “We climbed rocks, crossed rivers and crocodile-infested lakes. People and children died along the way, we were left without water and food for days.”
The family arrived in October 2023 and settled in a City of Denver-run hotel. Hernandez was grateful for the opportunity but it was not what he wanted for his family. He wanted to keep moving forward. So, he began cleaning houses and started saving money to get them out of the hotel.
“While at the Comfort Inn, they gave the same breakfast and dinner, they didn’t give lunch and they didn’t offer food to our child, only to children three years and older,” Hernandez said. “They didn’t give my child any food, and wouldn’t allow any outside food or beverages, so we wanted to leave. They gave us 37 days and after 30 days we had saved enough money and we left.”
The process of transitioning into housing and finding work opportunities isn’t as simple as it seems. Denver resident Jaqueline Falcón has experienced the difficulties families face firsthand, while trying to help Vargas and Hernandez find permanent housing.
“It’s very frustrating. I work full-time and try to call people on my downtime, and nobody calls back or I don’t get an email back. If it’s hard for me to navigate, I don’t know how they would do it,” Falcón said.
While on their way to a clinic in the Whittier neighborhood, the couple stopped by the home of Falcón to ask if she and her husband needed any housework done. Falcon stayed in contact with them and began helping the small family as much as possible. Although she is not a Spanish speaker and a lot of communication gets lost in translation, they have found tools like Google Translate to help them.
When Hernandez and his family left the hotel, they rented a room from a woman they met while cleaning houses. While living there they began to experience issues with the landlord’s son and decided it was time to move. They reached out to Falcón who began to look for temporary housing in her neighborhood.
“I knew of a neighbor across the street who has an Airbnb and asked if he would let the family rent it. He said he would call me back because he knew of somebody on his block who wanted to help some Venezuelan people, so he put me in touch with Rachel Davis who had this temporary space available for them,” Falcón said.
Davis and her husband, Zeeshan, rent out the ADU on their property and had recently found themselves between tenants. They were able to offer the couple the space for a month to help them get on their feet and find more permanent housing. Davis said they wanted to help the migrant community because she and her family are committed to community service. They have enjoyed having Vargas and Hernandez in their rental space and plan to keep in touch once they have moved on.
“It’s pretty wild once you think about everything they’ve gone through,” Davis said. “They are awesome, they are so young, they are go-getters—navigating the city, hopping on the bus. They are totally eager and willing to do whatever it takes to settle down here and make it work.”
Like many newcomers, Vargas and Hernandez are struggling to find steady work. Vargas said she has been working at a Mexican restaurant as a server but is only called when needed for four to five hours per shift. The same goes for Hernandez who is working with a roofing and flooring company.
“I’m always looking for work. I enjoy working. Coming here, one can make $80 working five to six hours, but back home in Venezuela you could never save enough to buy a house,” Hernandez said.
The closure of Denver shelters is part of a plan to save the city $60 million in its 2024 budget. As of Feb. 28, 2024, the number of new arrivals in the city has decreased allowing the city to consolidate to three shelters for newcomers. The city, nonprofits and community members announced a four-part strategy in which they would continue to implement length-of-stay limits for shelter guests, double down on case management to help people transition into housing and work opportunities, offer travel options to folks who decide to leave the city, and host work authorization clinics.
“We are not serving people any less effectively than we have before, we’re serving them in a way that’s going to be more cost-effective for the city and for residents,” said Mayor Mike Johnston at the shelter closure announcement on Feb. 28.
Davis’ one-month rental of the ADU to the young couple is coming to an end next week. Falcón has exhausted her resources searching for permanent housing for the family. She has reached out to different apartment complexes, neighbors in her area who might own any property, and places like Curtis Park Village that could help, but has not been successful.
She expressed her frustration when it comes to the asylum process and said she wishes Mayor Johnston could provide them with a fact sheet that offers information about the process of applying for parole, temporary protected status, or asylum, which could help them qualify for a work permit.
“There’s a lot of Americans who are trying to help them and we don’t know what the process is,” Falcón said. “So, the mayor needs to put out a sheet with all the different forms describing what they are for and what the different processes are because there are people who are helping, and it would be quicker and easier with a factsheet.”
Without fully understanding each other due to the language barrier, Falcón and the young family have built a relationship. Especially their son Thiago, who enjoys playing with Falcón when she visits. The couple said they are grateful for Falcón and thank God they met her.
“Looking from the outside in and making judgments doesn’t do anybody any good, just put yourself in people’s shoes, you know I have,” Falcón said. “Have some compassion and help because it’s so easy to be in this great place but not have compassion for others. They’re just looking for a better life.”
The young couple said they came to the U.S. to work and to provide their son with a better education. While they are currently working on the asylum application process, in the future they hope to return home.
“For now, we are planning to stay and work. But I would like to buy a home in Venezuela, establish a business and eventually go back,” Vargas said.
