MOVE-IN DAY FOR MIGRANT FAMILIES Largest group of school-aged children arrive to date
LOWELL » A warm and sunny Tuesday morning greeted the arrival of the latest and largest group of migrant families to move from a site in Bedford into the Inn & Conference Center on Warren Street.
Reporters were not allowed on the private property, which the state is leasing from Umass Lowell, but the plastic-bagged belongings of the residents, who arrived by van, were visible from the street. A reporter heard some babies crying, and several children hovered close to a parent.
Jennifer Myers, a spokesperson for the Lowell Public Schools, confirmed that 47 school-aged and 18 pre-k and kindergarten-aged children were part of the 53 migrant families, of 189 individuals, coming from the Bedford site.
It is not clear how many of the newly arriving children are under the age of 5, but Lowell Director of Health and Human Services Lisa Golden has previously stated that of the 361 people on site as of April 3, almost
The former Umass Lowell Inn & Conference Center has been repurposed by the Healey-driscoll administration as temporary housing for migrant families. A Lowell Regional Transit Authority bus idles outside the front entrance on March 1, 2024.
270 were children. Of that number, between 24-40 were schoolaged children registered for school with the remaining children under the age of 5.
In many respects, this migration of families fleeing unrest and violence in their home countries of Venezuela and Haiti is
largely a migration of children.
Under the federal Mckinney-vento Act, the Bedford families have the option to choose whether their school-aged children will be immediately enrolled in Lowell Public Schools, or remain in their current school district and receive transportation back and forth each day.
The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education works with sending and receiving school districts to share details on the families to be transferred and determine logistics for the continued education of the school-age children.
Myers said the school-age children currently enrolled in Bedford schools will remain in that district through June. Transportation is lined up and ready to roll for April 22 when school vacation ends to transport the students.
“They will transfer into Lowell Public Schools in the fall and LPS staff will meet with the families to make that transition as smooth as possible and to ensure they have the resources and information they need,” Myers said by email Tuesday afternoon.
There are also 18 4-year-olds in the group who have not yet enrolled in school. Myers said Family Resource Center staff will be at the ICC later this week to register those students for pre-k or kindergarten classes for the start of the new school
year in the fall and to answer any questions the families have about programming, services and resources.
The state selected Commonwealth Care Alliance, a health care services organization, as the service provider for the site. It is in charge of all access to the property, which is being managed by Emergency Assistance Director Lt. Gen. Scott Rice.
His department oversees management and coordination of the shelter system, including heading up the administration’s Incident Command Team, which was launched in May, and which includes representatives from multiple state agencies including the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.
In an April 12 communication obtained by The Sun, EOHLC Director of Municipal Relations Tyler Newhall said an additional 15 migrant families, of 63 individuals, will arrive from Bedford to Lowell on April 23, followed by one last group.
“… once we receive final clearance to use additional rooms at the ICC, we plan to move the last group of 23 families from Bedford — likely in early May,” Newhall wrote in the email.
The 252-room former hotel does not offer in-suite cooking facilities or refrigeration, and the facility’s former ballrooms are being used as communal dining areas. Other services to the families include career counseling through Masshire and wellness visits at the Lowell Community Health Center, a seven-minute walk from the ICC to LCHC’S Jackson Street location.
LCHC’S Metta Health Center delivers culturally tailored, integrated, trauma-informed and evidence-based primary care and behavioral health care services to asylum seekers.
“Metta Health Center is a compassionate healthcare sanctuary for refugees, asylum seekers, and all who have been forcibly displaced,” Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kumble Rajesh said by email on Tuesday. “Founded more than 20 years ago to serve the unique needs of Lowell’s Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Laotian communities, Metta has evolved to embrace individuals from across the globe. Today, we stand ready to welcome and serve all of these newly arrived families.”
The district has experience welcoming students from a rich constellation of families, Myers said.
“Lowell Public Schools has a great tradition of welcoming newcomer students and their families from all over the world throughout every school year and we are prepared to make sure they receive the assistance and information they need to become active members of our community,” she said.
Several adults left the ICC on Tuesday, and headed toward the downtown area. Despite the language barrier — most families speak French, Spanish, Portuguese, or Haitian Creole — a reporter’s greeting of “Hello, and welcome,” was met with “Thank you.” They pantomimed that they were off to explore the area.
Community Teamwork, which is supporting the work of CCA at the ICC, offers some local information on its website.