Raquel Batista, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) this week announced that New York City will provide $1.5 million in funding to help newly arrived Haitian migrants fleeing their country to access legal aid and social services in immigration matters.

Many of these newcomers settle in New York State (Flatbush), which has the second largest population of foreign-born Haitians in the United States.

MOIA, in partnership with the Institute for Haitian Studies at CUNY Brooklyn College, will distribute funds to community organizations to help administer services and ensure the city offers case management and immigration services adapted to Haitian culture, in Creole and in French.

Legal services will include assistance in accessing Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and other forms of humanitarian relief, removal and deportation defense. Efforts will also include an anti-fraud messaging and information campaign in community and ethnic media.

"After traveling across several miles and months to seek refuge in the U.S., thousands of Haitian New Yorkers need critical resources and supportive services to recover from the emotional, mental and physical toll of this ordeal," said Farah N. Louis, City Councilmember.

Beneficiary organizations of this financial assistance :

• Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York ;

• Caribbean Women’s Health Association ;

• Diaspora Community Services ;

• Flanbwayan Literacy Project ;

• Haitian Americans United for Progress (HAUP) ;

• Haitian American Community Coalition (HCC) ;

• Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees ;

• Life of Hope

The Consulate General of Haiti in New York welcomes and expresses its gratitude to MOIA for the availability of these funds "This gesture of generosity and solidarity will certainly facilitate our tireless work to continue to support the newly arrived Haitian New Yorker."

HL/ HaitiLibre