At a church rectory in Boston, Haitian migrants place their hopes on hard work and helping hands

By STEVE LeBLANC
Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — When 43-year-old Ernseau Admettre left Haiti and headed north with his young family in tow, very little was guaranteed. But the situation in his homeland had grown so dire that a risky passage to and then across the United States’ southern border offered a kind of hope he couldn’t find by staying put. Admettre and his family eventually landed in Massachusetts, which last month reached a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families in its emergency homeless shelter system. Admettre and seven other Haitian families are now living in a church rectory in Boston as they eye their next steps — work and permanent housing.