BOSTON (WHDH) - After Boston Medical Center offered shelter to migrant families without a place to live, the hospital reported seeing more migrant families in need of help than it could handle.
BMC confirmed it moved some of the migrants to Logan Airport.
Boston City Councilor At-Large Ruthzee Louijeune said she was notified of the hospital’s actions last week.
“A hospital is not an ideal location for anyone in search of shelter and nor is an airport,” Louijeuen said.
Louijeune, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, said this felt personal.
“At the end of the day they’re people like you and me,” Louijeune said. “These are people who deserve a safe life and have so much to give our city and our commonwealth.”
Logan was chosen because it is open 24 hours, has restrooms, security and food options, BMC said.
“The role of an airport is for travel not for providing shelter and safety to people in need of that,” she said.
Massport, which runs Logan Airport, agreed in a statement.
“This is an unfortunate situation, but Logan is not an appropriate place to house people,” they said. “The airport does not have the resources to care for or provide human services.”
Advocate Jeff Thielman of the International Institute of New England said there has been an influx of Haitian immigrants to Massachusetts in the last six to eight months.
He said finding housing is not easy, but there are better solutions than the airport.
“It’s the wrong message,” he said. “It basically says to people, go to Logan, get yourself on a plane and get out of here. It’s a bad message.”
BMC said it notified city and state partners of the change.
“BMC is providing transportation to help displaced, unhoused migrant families get to State resources such as the Family Welcome Center or, when State resources are closed, another location where they are able to seek shelter until State resources are reopened,” they said in a statement Wednesday.
BMC officials said Logan was only one of several places migrant families were relocated, and the airport is “a last resort.”
“As a last resort, BMC has provided transportation to the airport when some families have no other place to go as a necessary option to avoid families sleeping in unsafe locations, including outdoors,” they said.
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