SAN ANTONIO — As the number of migrants coming across the southern border climbs, one local non-profit is pleading for the community’s help.
“We are a year around operation, whether the numbers are low or high, we continue to assist,” said Tori Salas, coordinating director for the Interfaith Welcome Coalition.
The Interfaith Welcome Coalition (IWC) assists asylum seekers from around the globe, including Latin America, Europe and Africa.
As of January the IWC has helped nearly 30,000 migrants, providing food, water, medicine and hygiene products.
In 2022, the IWC assisted more than 90,000 asylum seekers.
The IWC recorded a total of more than 6,000 migrants coming to San Antonio since October 1. About 28% of the migrants are arriving from Venezuela.
“The majority are individuals, singles, but we do get families every once in a while. I would say that 30% are children who are coming to the bus stations with their families,” Salas said.
The non-profit assists migrants in partnership with the City of San Antonio, Catholic Charities and border community organizations. One of the prominent ongoing needs is for more volunteers. The IWC currently has a little more than 100 people performing a variety of services.
“Evening hours we’ve been having to hire staff to assist us at the bus station with the growing number of asylum seekers,” Salas said. “The need for volunteers continues to be vital. We have operations at the bus station, the airport, we have a hospitality committee. We also need help with logistics, we set up backpacks.”
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