In the heart of Bushwick is a Venezuelan barber who for years has opened his Brooklyn home to friends, acquaintances and strangers arriving from his native country. Juan Sanchez, a 51-year-old father and husband who comes from a large family and has many cousins, said he learned early on to share what he has. His late mother, he said, taught him to always stretch his resources to assist others. This year, Sanchez’s three-bedroom apartment has become a haven for more and more travelers who are seeking a new home in the U.S. due to political and economic turmoil in their home country. When Sanchez began helping his countrymen six or seven years ago, he said they flew from Venezuela to New York City with visas in hand. There were not as many as today and the first batch of people he helped had far better financial prospects. His recent guests, on the other hand, have entered the U.S. via Mexico under much more harrowing conditions. They had all taken different paths to reach the Brooklyn apartment — but all were among approximately 23,000 asylum-seekers who have traveled to New York City from Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and other Latin American countries in recent months. To learn more about Sanchez and the people he provides safe haven to, tap our link in bio. 📝: Chau Lam, Caroline Lewis 📷: Christian Rodriguez for WNYC