Montgomery County councilmembers unanimously agreed to allocate $2.261,663 to the Montgomery County Respite Center to assist arriving migrants with food, medical care and guidance.
The center’s federal funding ends Dec.31, and the county intends to continue with the respite center for migrants being bused to the area from Texas and Arizona.
The SAMU First Response Foundation opened the center in June of 2022. It is the first formal center in the area, according to Council Vice President Kate Stewart, noting, “We really showed leadership here.”
The center currently is funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“Hopefully we will get state money” to continue the program, Stewart said. “We are looking for other funds to sustain this.”
The $2.3 million will come from undesignated funds in the county’s general fund. It is expected to cover expenses from January through June 2024.
“This is the job of the federal government. We are stepping up, but we have been forced to step up, because the federal government” will end the funding by Dec. 31, said Council President Adnrew Friedson.
FEMA made changes to the emergency grant program that SAMU was receiving, making the organization no longer eligible for the grant program.
Many of those coming to the center were put on a bus and sent here without rest or medical care, Stewart had explained previously.
The center has served 4,121 people as of Nov. 10, mostly from Venezuela, Colombia and Peru. The migrants stay for usually three to five days but can stay up to 30 days.
Related Post
County Council to Consider $2 million Grant for Migrant Respite Center
