One man on his own: Making a difference

Sometimes, from the ashes of despair comes a shining bright light.

Case in point: Long-time Chicagoan Salvador Sanchez is making it his very own one-man mission to help with the very troubling migrant situation here in Chicago.

Sanchez has been reaching out and making personal and direct connections with the migrant families that are new in our city by getting to know them and offering whatever assistance and guidance he can.

He is a one-man operation, strictly doing this on his own, and he goes about his business of helping in the quietest and most subtle of ways.

The need is great. Everything from food to housing, to work, to communication, to finding your way around a new city and getting the correct documents—all of these and more daunting obstacles for new migrant families arriving in a strange environment.

Sanchez, through his personal touch, soft-spoken friendliness, and calming influence, slowly dissolves some of their confusion and worry. He does it by first introducing himself, getting to know them, and then finding out what they might need.

This one-man communication consultant is tall, well-dressed, middle-aged fit, and then some. An ex-collegiate swimmer who used to work for the Red Cross and help do water rescues and disaster missions, he now seems to dedicate his time almost exclusively to helping the Chicago migrant families.

“I just want to help,” says Sanchez matter-of-factly, “I see the worry and the fear in their faces and if I can help by talking to them and maybe providing some level of assistance and direction, then that is what I will do.”

Sanchez goes around to various Chicago shelters and locations to see the families, and he also regularly attends the meal service at Fourth Presbyterian Church. He will sit with them, get to know them, talk to them, and then find out their needs and worries.

He can’t solve all the problems, of course, but he can at least be a comforting voice and a calming influence amidst all the worry.

“It is a very difficult situation,” he says, “these are good people, good families—but they have been put in desperate situations. Most are trying to do the right thing, but they are only human. Sometimes good people may end up doing bad things if they have been in these kinds of situations for extended periods of time.”

Besides the obvious need for food, shelter, and the language barrier, —the biggest obstacle is finding work.

“Getting work permits so they can work and learning the English language are two of the biggest reasons holding these folks back. They want to and are willing to work,” says Sanchez, holding back his frustration, “It is just tough to get hired when they don’t know the language and they haven’t yet received work permits.”

For the latter problem, he has again stepped up his game. He now offers an English-speaking learning class twice a week, right after lunch is served on weekdays at Fourth Presbyterian Church.

Everything Sanchez does here is strictly volunteer. He gets paid nothing, and his motivation is nothing more complicated than seeing a need and answering the call.

“I show up at the shelters and basically just find out what the situation is and see what they might need. It is tough to see what they are going through, but I am glad I can help, at least in some small way.”

One positive Sanchez noted is that the kids seem to have been integrated into the school system.

“This helps,” he says, “having the kids in school is good. It is at least one source of comfort for the parents knowing the kids are being taken care of during the daytime hours.”

In a world of growing discontent and a seemingly endless stream of bad news and sad stories—It is essential to see the other side as well.

Giving us a little faith in humanity and reminding us that there is still much more good than bad in this world upon which we live.

Folks like Salvador Sanchez, and there are many others like him, who work tirelessly behind the scenes and out of the public eye to provide much-needed help and assistance.

A positive ray of light.

And now? More than ever—it is needed.