COLUMBUS, Ohio — Through a multi-service business called Doc Assist Services LLC, Sarah Janvier helps Haitians fleeing a humanitarian crisis in their home country relocate to Ohio.

What You Need To Know

  • Sarah Janvier works at Doc Assist Services LLC

  • She said they help Haitians with relocation services 

  • Janvier said she noticed more clients needing help as Haiti faces a humanitarian crisis

  • A cholera outbreak, gang violence and inflation are causing some Haitians to flee

“Our focus is on the Haitian people,"  she said. "Our goal is to make sure that they are empowered when they do come here,."

Janvier was born in Haiti, but said she hasn’t been able to go back since she left.

“Every time, you know, we plan to travel, there's just something going on,” Janvier said. “It's either kidnapping going on. It's either, you know, shootings, it's, you know, gas issues, just all types of safety or insecurity issues.”

Janvier said these concerns are growing again and the nation now faces a humanitarian crisis.

“There's a lot of chaos going on, just, you know, in general, a lot of families are displaced," she said. "You know, a lot of families have been separated due to, you know, persecution or issues that the country is facing."

A cholera outbreak, gang violence, inflation and a lack resources are causing a number of residents to flee the island.

“I encounter families who either fled from persecution for fear of their life or some sort of just insecurity, or maybe basically they're not able to make it by living because they can't afford a life," Janvier said. "The lifestyle in Haiti right now, because, I mean, [the] cost is rising up. There's no work."

Janvier said Haiti has had infrastructure issues in the past, but added that the 2021 assassination of their president, Jovenel Moïse, exacerbated problems. 

“If they can kill a president, then and I mean, that being an accomplished act of crime, then the people of the country have just felt really insecure," she said. "So bandits, gang members, corruption in the police system, it just made it that much easier for them to be able to (cause disruptions and it) just made it that much easier for the country to go downhill."

While Janvier said something has to change, she is also wary of foreign intervention.

“At this point, you know, leave it in the hands of the competent leaders in Haiti and give them a chance to make the right decisions for the country,” Janvier said.

She said she would rather see countries like the United States help asylum seekers when they arrive.

“Just as other nationalities have been granted refugee status, that's one of the things that we're looking for [from] you know, the state of Ohio and the leaders in the state of Ohio, that's one of the things that we're calling for,” Janvier said. “So when we're out there in front of the election building and we are protesting, that's what we're protesting for. We're asking for the same type of treatment for the Haitian people.”

As Janvier deals with an influx of clients from Haiti, she said she is happy to help her people with any relocation assistance they may need.