Since the governor of Texas began sending asylum seekers from the southern border to Chicago in August 2022, community members have played a significant role in helping migrants feel at home in the city.

Last year, a Belmont Cragin pastor opened his church’s doors to house a group of migrants who were sleeping at a police station. One of the men, 31-year-old Yeison Perez, has now created a series of paintings describing his journey to America. His artwork will be on display this weekend at the church.

Perez made the dangerous journey from Venezuela last year. It’s a journey he said still haunts him.

When he arrived in Chicago, Perez said, he slept on the floor of the 17th District police station until he met the Rev. Jonathan de la O from Starting Point Community Church.

“We started to house men last year since we saw the second wave come in,” de la O said. “We made some rooms, and about 20 guys have stayed here at a time, and a few have transitioned now.”

With a warm place to stay, Perez started to sketch the things he saw on his journey to America. De la O presented him with an opportunity to create a series of paintings for an exhibition.

“In my exhibit, I thought about a phrase someone says when there’s no other option,” Perez said in Spanish. “When you see that the situation you are in is drowning you, you look around and think about what you will do, and there’s no option to leave. So, I called it, ‘I Have to Leave.’”

Perez said some of his experiences are hard to put into words, so he uses his art to release some of those emotions.

One of his paintings depicts what a migrant feels when that person is ready to board a train.

“I wanted to show the train’s light here to evoke a different focus in this painting,” Perez said in Spanish. “We carry many negative thoughts because of our circumstances and the experiences that we go through. But there will always be a light moving us forward and guiding us. I called this painting ‘Hope.’ Not everything we went through was negative. We met people who helped us and gave us a lending hand, food and money for a passage.”

The “Me Tengo Que Ir” art exhibit will take place at Starting Point Community Church, 4851 W. Wrightwood Ave., from 6-9 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday; admission is free. Guests can learn more about Perez’s journey and others staying at the church.