A simple plate of food – meant to provide a comforting sense of home to Haitian migrants in a Massachusetts shelter – led to something much bigger for a man searching for a better life in the Bay State.
Paul Richelle, a 41-year-old from Haiti, came to the United States via Chile and a long journey through South and Central America. He arrived in Massachusetts in July 2023. A year later, he has a steady job and even his own car and is well on his way to an independent future here.
“This is what I’ve been looking for: a better life and a job,” he told NBC10 Boston through a translator who is his case manager and is trying to help him find permanent housing.
Richelle was at a Children’s Services of Roxbury home when he came into contact with the founder of Gourmet Kreyol, a Haitian food truck and catering company dedicated to increasing the culture’s presence in Boston.
Many migrant families arriving in Massachusetts rely on the state’s shelter system, but with that system stretched to capacity, nonprofits are vital to the work of helping families adjust to the U.S. Follow NBC10 Boston on… Instagram: instagram.com/nbc10boston TikTok: tiktok.com/@nbc10boston Facebook: facebook.com/NBC10Boston X: twitter.com/NBC10Boston
CSR partnered with Gourmet Kreyol to provide culturally appropriate meals to those in the shelter to provide them with more comfort. Richelle saw this as an opportunity.
“When he talked to Nathalie (Lecorps), the boss of Gourmet Kreyol, about work, she told him he could call her when he had his work permit,” his translator explained. “And when he had his work permit, he called her and got the job.”
Richelle started preparing food in the kitchen and now works as a driver for the company.
Lecorps said Richelle was one of about a dozen migrants her company had hired.
“We also recruit new people on a regular basis,” she said. “We assist the immigrants in obtaining their green card. And we work with the nonprofit organization to make sure they have a good footing here in the United States.”
The nonprofit CSR has stepped up its outreach efforts amid an influx of immigrants in Massachusetts in desperate need of help. It’s the little things, like a familiar meal, that can make a big difference.
“I would say they are really happy because they see that there is someone who knows their roots and is willing to help and find these comforting foods,” says Marie Paul, who works in CSR’s homeless department.
In August 2023, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey declared a state of emergency as a historic surge of migrants sought help from the state’s overwhelmed shelter system. We spent months talking with newcomers and the organizations that work with them about why they decided to leave their homes, their hopes and dreams for the future, and how they’re faring so far. Follow NBC10 Boston on… Instagram: instagram.com/nbc10boston TikTok: tiktok.com/@nbc10boston Facebook: facebook.com/NBC10Boston X: twitter.com/NBC10Boston
Comfort through food, shelter and opportunity is a recipe for success for people like Richelle.
“I think everything will be fine with Gourmet Kreyol,” Richelle said in Creole through his translator. “And I will have a better life. Because before I worked for Gourmet Kreyol, I didn’t have a car. Now I have a car. And I think everything will be fine. And they treat me well at Gourmet Kreyol.”
A major concern of the Healey government was to help migrants find work.
According to Healey’s office, her administration began tracking work permit applications for people arriving at Family Welcome Centers and the emergency shelter system in October 2023.
Since then, 4,115 people have applied for a work permit, her office said, of which 3,397 have been approved.
