For immediate release
Chicago, IL - June 10, 2024
As asylum-seekers arrived in Chicago from Latin America over the past year, a public conversation about the mobilization of city services and marshaling of private sector resources began. In a series of new Firsthand shorts, WTTW explores the complicated migrant experience through the eyes of five individuals who reveal why they left their home countries, their perilous journeys across continents, and the political forces that have shaped their new lives in Chicago as they search for housing, jobs, and education. Watch trailer >>
As part of the award-winning, multiplatform, multi-year initiative focusing on the firsthand perspectives of people facing critical issues in Chicago, FIRSTHAND: HOMELESS – THE MIGRANT EXPERIENCE launches on June 24 at wttw.com/firsthand and the PBS app with stories about:
Emili, an entrepreneur finding her way in Chicago
Outside Chicago’s Ogden Avenue shelter, Emili Rincón dishes out homemade chicken soup and other Venezuelan specialties. It’s a cash-only food business with a limited customer base, but it helps the family make ends meet while they anxiously wait to apply for a work permit. Emili came to the United States after her husband was murdered in Venezuela. Upon arriving in Chicago, she was determined to avoid living in a shelter. Luckily, a friend offered her a place to stay, and there she saved enough money in three months to rent an apartment in Little Village. Her family of four now shares their apartment with a sister, two cousins, and their spouses and children. Everyone pitches in to pay the bills, look after the kids, and settle into their new home.
Alba, an indigenous woman running out of time to find housing
A proud daughter of Colombia’s indigenous Wayyu people, Alba Gomez hopes that relocating to Chicago was the right decision for her family. Arriving in the city to unwelcoming February temperatures, Alba seeks out every available resource to clothe and feed her family of five. At the shelter on Ogden Avenue, Alba is made aware that she does not qualify for any housing assistance, and at the Department of Health and Human Services, she is informed that she does not qualify for food assistance either. The city can only offer her family sixty days of shelter, which means that the clock is ticking for her to find her own place to live.
Esteban, making sense of his migration journey through art
For Esteban Garrido, drawing his ideas on a clay flower pot or sketchbook brings him one step closer to the freedom he could only imagine seven months ago. As an artist, he seeks a physical and spiritual peace that he could not find in Morona-Santiago Ecuador. Esteban’s solo journey to the United States was prompted by his inability to make an honest living in his home country. Chicago had always held a special place in his imagination: he recalls seeing the ubiquitous Bulls logo as a young man, and for reasons he cannot explain, he was compelled to make Chicago his destination. Aided by a church group in El Paso, Texas, Esteban made his way to St. Edmunds Church in Oak Park. Waiting to begin the asylum process, he spends his time looking for inspiration and enlightenment in his art.
Jose, anxiously awaiting his day in immigration court
Jose Gutierrez and his family are anxiously awaiting their date in immigration court. Having left Venezuela to seek asylum, the only thing that seems certain is that he cannot return to his home country, even if it means starting life over in a minimum wage job. He makes his rounds six days a week as a maintenance worker for a popular fast food franchise, which is humbling for this former officer of the Venezuelan Highway Patrol. Jose is excited to see how his kids are flourishing in America, which makes the stakes even higher as their court date draws near.
Victoria, a bridge between migrant families and Chicago schools
As a Community Manager for Chicago Public Schools, Victoria Infante builds cultural bridges between new migrants and the city’s schools. As Chicago wrestled with an influx of 35,000 new immigrants, Victoria created a welcoming place for the school-age children who settled in the Pilsen neighborhood, welcoming parents and students to her after-school programs, and to a free store called “La Tiendita”, where families can find toiletries and used clothing. Her motivation for doing this work is deeply personal: sixteen years ago, Victoria left Colombia for the United States, and she realizes that her education offered her an advantage in life – an advantage she would like to extend to the new arrivals.
Over the course of the next few months, WTTW will present related community screenings and conversations with residents, thought leaders, and policymakers, and a companion discussion guide providing direction and prompts will be made available on wttw.com.
WTTW is the PBS member station in Chicago, committed to creating and presenting unique media content across distinct television and digital channels – WTTW, WTTW Prime, WTTW Create, WTTW World, WTTW/PBS Kids 24/7, wttw.com, and the PBS app. Recognized for award-winning journalism and local productions Chicago Stories, Chicago Tonight, Chicago by ‘L’ with Geoffrey Baer; digital-first series Firsthand and Urban Nature; and national productions Prehistoric Road Trip and Nature Cat, WTTW presents the very best in public affairs, arts and culture, nature and science, history and documentary, and children’s public media content. Connect with WTTW on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.
