Within the first day open, a new La Colaborativa day shelter in Chelsea serving migrant families and homeless individuals exceeded its 200-person capacity by around 70 people and opening a contingency overflow site, staff told the Herald.

“There is an inexpressibly heartbreaking level of need,” said Alex Train, chief operating officer at La Colaborativa. “That’s prevalent amongst all the households we met with today. Many have arrived very recently with only a couple of bags of essential items, without employment prospects nor stable housing. They’ve been forced to sleep on the sidewalk, sleep in Logan Airport or sleep in overflow shelters.”

La Colaborativa announced it would open a day shelter with funding through the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Healey administration earlier in the month.

The funding comes out of a $5 million grant program through a state and United Way partnership announced in November after the state reached its 7,500 shelter cap. The program provides funding community-based, faith-based and volunteer organizations for short-term and overnight shelters.

The shelter, which only operates daytime services, coordinates with the state to transport migrant families from the overflow state-run overnight shelter in Cambridge.

In the first day, the shelter received about 211 families primarily from the Cambridge site, Train said, as well as 50 to 60 people from the area come in. La Colaborativa staff activated a contingency overflow site at their headquarters Tuesday to accommodate the influx, Train said.

The shelter provides everything from hot meal services to assistance with mental health care, housing programs, work authorizations and more, Train said. The goal, he said, is a “intensive workforce development-oriented program” offering ESL classes, resume assistance, job interview training and the like, in addition to the wraparound services.

When families came in Tuesday, they went through comprehensive intake and triage services to assess immediate needs and stabilize emergencies. During the process, Train said, several people were sent for emergency medical care.

For about half an hour Tuesday, a father sat with his three-year-old daughter looking uncomfortable, Train said. The team that spoke to him found that he was unable to walk, hadn’t had a meal in many days and had had no access to health care before calling an ambulance.

Speaking to people throughout the day, Train said, families expressed gratitude for the warm, inviting space and the “glimmer of hope that employment and stable housing on the horizon.” By the end of the day when the four buses came to bring families back to the overflow shelter, Train noted, it was difficult for many to leave.

“Frankly, the state along with localities across the region are overwhelmed by this confluence of the housing crisis coupled with an immigration system that’s not working and not treating people with dignity,” said Train. “So although we’ll continue to remain in coordination, the need is certainly outstripping the resources available right now across the Commonwealth.”

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The shelter is contracted to run through June 1, after which state officials will assess whether additional services are necessary.

The future of the program will be highly dependent on funding, as well as the major needs of the homeless population, Train said, noting that the “true cost of this operation is almost double what the current funding is allowing.”

“Overall, it was an extremely strenuous day,” Train said. “It was by no means of a light lift. But we’re very, very grateful to be able to serve the community in this capacity.”