NYC migrant crisis: Where to volunteer and what to donate
Sept. 4, 2023, 9:01 a.m.
A detailed rundown of how to help from organizers on the ground, as well as the Adams administration.
Mayor Eric Adams has repeatedly urged New Yorkers to volunteer or donate to help ease the asylum-seeker crisis, but figuring out where to go to help or what items to give can be difficult.
For information on how New Yorkers can help, Gothamist spoke with the mayor's office as well as several organizers involved in daily efforts to aid migrants who have recently arrived in the city.
Nearly 60,000 asylum-seekers are currently in the city’s emergency shelter system, and about 19,000 homeless children have enrolled in public schools since the ongoing wave of migrants began last year.
While many organizers cautioned that their needs are frequently changing, here's what they say they need now.
South Bronx Mutual Aid
646-598-3526
Direct message them on Instagram @southbronxmutualaid.
WHAT YOU CAN DONATE
- Hygiene products and toiletries like deodorant, toothpaste and toothbrushes.
- New and used clean clothing for men, particularly in small and medium sizes.
- New socks and underwear for men.
- Baby diapers.
- Money. Use this website, which also shows how donations are spent.
Contact organizers to arrange donations of goods, which can be mailed to the following address: PO Box 216, Bronx, NY 10464.
Please contact South Bronx Mutual Aid before putting any items in the mail.
HOW YOU CAN VOLUNTEER
South Bronx Mutual Aid has an urgent need for volunteer translation services to help communication with migrants. To volunteer, call the number above or direct message the organization on Instagram to find out which migrant shelter to go to. Translators are needed for:
- Spanish
- French
- African languages, including Wolof and Fulani
- Arabic
HEAR IT FROM THEM
South Bronx Mutual Aid has routinely assisted immigrants in the borough since its founding in April 2020. Now, the group dedicates most of its time to visiting migrant shelters, getting to know the migrants, discussing their needs and directly providing aid.
Ariadna Phillips, the founder of the group, said that translation services are urgently needed to help talk to migrants about conditions in the Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers, or “HERRCs.”
“There have been numerous concerns…around abuses occurring by these HERRC operators,” said Phillips.
She said volunteers would be part of a “system of accountability and [make] sure that if something is happening, people have trustworthy neighbors to come in and offer support and care.”
Gambian Youth Organization
347-949-8363
salim@thegyo.com or ajifanta@thegyo.com
@gambianyouthorganization on Instagram
WHAT YOU CAN DONATE
- Weekly or monthly MetroCards or prepaid OMNY cards.
- New men’s clothing, especially socks, underwear, sweatpants, T-shirts and sneakers.
- Hygiene products like deodorant and soap.
- Money, which covers the costs of transportation and food for migrants. Donations can be made through PayPal or Zelle by using the email info@thegyo.com.
Please contact organizers via email or call the number above to coordinate a time and location to donate goods.
HOW YOU CAN VOLUNTEER
Salim Drammeh, the founder of the Gambian Youth Organization, said his group is most in need of pro bono lawyers to assist migrants at the organization’s community center at 214 East 181st St. in the Bronx.
The organization spends much of its time greeting and transporting migrants from the Port Authority when they first arrive in the city.
Contact the organization to find out where you’re needed.
HEAR IT FROM THEM
The Gambian Youth Organization was founded in 2002 to support African migrants. The group was critical of the city’s handling of migrants at the Roosevelt Hotel, who were left to sleep on a sidewalk for days in July. Mayor Eric Adams said the city was simply out of room.
“We are seeing the results of putting politics over the lives of people in full action,” the group said in a statement. “Hundreds of asylum-seekers, who are majority Black and Muslim, have been left to sleep outside.”
Drammeh said asylum-seekers face challenges in paying for lawyers to represent them in their immigration cases.
“Without pro bono legal guidance, asylum-seekers are at risk of being exploited, misinformed and most importantly run the risk of being deported back to the very dangerous environments they’ve escaped from,” said Drammeh.
Team TLC
WHAT YOU CAN DONATE
- Men’s clothing, specifically men’s pants in small and medium sizes. There is no need for women’s clothing at the moment.
- Clothes for school-aged children. No infant or baby clothing.
- New or used shoes, like sneakers and walking shoes.
- Financial donations, which can be sent via Team TLC's website.
- Donations can be delivered to 12 West 40th St in Manhattan on Mondays between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. and from Tuesday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
HOW YOU CAN VOLUNTEER
Team TLC runs the Little Shop of Kindness on 12 West 40th St. inside of the Ukrainian Seventh-Day Adventist Center at Bryant Park. The shop, which offers migrants free clothing, toys and books, also has a lawyer available. The group also plans to have a shower van parked by the store for asylum-seekers to use.
Team TLC needs volunteers to help sort clothing as well as assist migrants by guiding them through the store and being their “personal shopper.”
Volunteers can sign up for open shifts at the store on Team TLC’s website. There is a need for Spanish speakers.
HEAR IT FROM THEM
According to its website, Team TLC welcomed migrants at the Port Authority with food and other resources until May, when the mayor’s office told the group to stop the service.
Team TLC’s efforts now revolve around the Little Shop of Kindness. Its leader Ilze Thielmann said that volunteers at the store are a tremendous help. Volunteers distribute goods to migrants who aren’t getting what they need from the city government, she said.
“We definitely need more volunteers,” said Thielmann. “To volunteer here at the shop to sort clothing or to be a personal shopper assisting people looking for clothing.”
African Communities Together
347-746-2281
info@africans.us or sophie@africans.us
WHAT YOU CAN DONATE
- Money, which can be donated through the group's website.
- Items for “care packages” made up of nonperishable food, hygiene products, toothbrushes, deodorant and lotion.
Call or email to arrange drop-offs of donations. The group does not accept clothing donations.
HOW YOU CAN VOLUNTEER
Harlem-based African Communities Together is focused on providing migrants hot, home-cooked meals.
The group has partnered with Harlem restaurants to arrange food drives and welcomes inquiries from restaurateurs and other cooks willing to provide good meals for large groups.
HEAR IT FROM THEM
Sophie Kouyate, a community navigator for African Communities Together in New York, says the group’s goal is to empower African immigrants to “integrate socially, advance economically, and engage civically.”
The quality of food given to the new arrivals has been a recurring problem, she said.
“Another problem they have is the food in the shelter,” said Kouyate. “When they give them food … most of the time the food is not good.”
New York Immigration Coalition
212-627-2227
WHAT YOU CAN DONATE
- The group does not accept donations, but will direct you to other organizations that do.
HOW YOU CAN VOLUNTEER
The New York Immigration Coalition will soon host weekly “Key to the City” resource fairs to help immigrants and low-income workers enroll in school, access city services, find health care, manage their immigration cases and more.
Volunteers will help run the fairs by:
- Signing people in.
- Setting up tables and cleaning up at the end of the fairs.
- Staffing tables.
To volunteer, fill out an online application. To provide pro bono legal work, email the contact above.
HEAR IT FROM THEM
Murad Awawdeh, the coalition's executive director, said that volunteering at events like the “Key to the City” resource fair is the best way to help asylum-seekers.
“We encourage anyone interested in lending a hand to sign up to volunteer with us,” said Awawdeh. “A few hours can make a big difference for you, your community, and our newest New Yorkers.”
Mayor Eric Adams’ administration
WHAT YOU CAN DONATE
- Money. Donations can be made to the Asylum-Seeker Relief Fund within the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City. Donations will be spent on “immediate survival needs, legal information and services, workforce support, housing and relocation services,” according to the site.
- Clothes, toiletries and hygiene items can be dropped off at locations in every borough listed here.
- Bicycles. Dropoff locations can be found here and here.
HEAR IT FROM THEM
“All of us can do something. If you are good in math, there's nothing stopping you from doing some financial literacy. If you are a carpenter, there's nothing stopping you from teaching people basic carpentry,” Adams said during an August briefing on the asylum-seeker crisis. “So what I'm saying, stop asking, ‘Hey Eric, what are you doing?’ This is a Michael Jackson moment. Look at the man and a woman in the mirror, what are you doing? We all should be playing a role to deal with a crisis when there's an all hands on deck moment. That's what I was saying. We can all volunteer. We could all do something.”
Department of Education
Donate here.
WHAT YOU CAN DONATE
- Underwear, pajamas, long- and short-sleeved T-shirts, sweaters, pants, sneakers, boots, coats and jackets
- Gloves, scarves and hats
- Diapers and baby formula
- Laundry detergent and hygiene supplies including deodorant, shampoo, soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes.
- Book bags, school supplies, duffel bags and tote bags.
- Money. Donate to The Fund for Public Schools. Write “STH” or “recently arrived families” in the gift designation section to make sure the money goes to the Students in Temporary Housing team.
HEAR IT FROM THEM
“Regardless of their immigration status or language spoken at home, every student deserves access to high-quality schools that meet their unique needs,” said spokesperson Nicole Brownstein. “As we have done since we launched Project Open Arms, we will continue to work with students, families and partners to ensure that newcomer students have what they need in our public schools and that our schools are well equipped to support these needs.”
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