BUFFALO, N.Y. — Love it or hate it, it’s time to get ready for winter.

For those new to the U.S., they might not be as ready for the elements, and so the community is filling in those gaps.

"I'm excited and looking forward to the snowballs," Emanuel Hernandez-Sanchez said through a translator.

The Sanchez-Hernandez family relocated to Buffalo from Colombia in September.

While there’s a lot to look forward to as temperatures go down, the conditions surrounding all things winter fun are unfamiliar.

“It's the first time that we've been exposed to this type of weather. Inside of Vive [Shelter], you're nice and warm and when you go out there, it's cold," said Liceth Sanchez through a translator. "It'll be the first time we see snow.”

That’s why community groups are making sure new Americans are prepared.

“There's two things that are consistent about us," said state Assemblymember Jon Rivera. "One, is that we're [Buffalo] Bills fans and two, that we are perpetually generous here.”

Local representatives teamed up with Highmark and National Grid to provide 200 new coats and neck gaiters to people who need them.

“We're going to make sure we do things like this to make sure that people are taken care of, that they're warm, that they're healthy, so they can really know that Buffalo is truly their city," Rivera added.

It’s being warmly received.

“We did have some coats, but this one is a thicker type of coat, this material," said Liceth through a translator.

This isn’t where the resources end, though.

“Even just thinking about the blizzard a couple of years ago, [...] when you're brand new to the country and especially a climate like this, you don't know what to do," said Matt Tice, the director of asylum seeker programs at Jericho Road Community Health Center. "All of those [weather warning] messages can be really overwhelming.”

Groups like the International Institute provide translations for weather announcements, the Hope Refugee Drop-In Center helps people with utility assistance programs, and the Office of New Americans hotline helps match people with other services they need.

“We're in a tough time," said Tice. "But what I have been so encouraged with working with immigrant communities is that we have seen so many people come forward saying they want to help families.” 

Regardless of how it’s done, this winter and beyond, there’s no doubt it’s welcomed with open arms.

“I am grateful to these types of events and the foundations that contributed these coats because people really need them," said Juan Hernandez through a translator. "There are people in need and this is a service that is much needed.”

New jackets are usually hard to come by, and this supply will probably run out at some point.

Places like Vive Shelter and Jericho Road welcome any other donations of new or gently used winter clothes, socks and boots. There's a special need for those supplies for men and children.