Newsroom - JFSSD
Moving Forward Together

Newsroom

Welcome to Our Newsroom

Our Newsroom is the place to learn the latest news about Jewish Family Service of San Diego. Browse through our press releases, view or read the latest news coverage, and check out our publications. And, if you don’t find what you are looking for, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

To view JFS Videos, please click here. News videos are below.

Press Contact

For media-related inquiries, please contact J. Walcher Communications at (619) 295-7140.
If this is an urgent request, please call our main administration number at (858) 637-3000.

Or you can send an email to [email protected].

Blueprint for Impact: JFS Strategic Plan 2020 and Moving Forward

JFS’s new Blueprint for Impact will guide our organization through the next few years as we adapt and evolve to make a more profound impact in our community.

Read More >>

Press Releases

Nov 27 2024

Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) CEO Michael Hopkins is a 2024 Regional Task Force on Homelessness (RTFH) Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. RTFH is honoring Hopkins with the award for his tireless efforts to combatting homelessness in San Diego County.

Nov 6 2024

The California Welcoming Task Force is a binational coalition dedicated to re-envisioning how the U.S. can welcome people seeking asylum safely and expeditiously at our border by coordinating across sectors: humanitarian, legal, health, advocacy and communications. We must efficiently welcome people seeking refuge and ensure people have access to a fair and organized process if the U.S. is to continue championing itself as a defender of human rights. Jewish Family Service of San Diego makes a statement within this press release.

Oct 31 2024

The California Commission on Aging has named Dana Toppel, JFS CEO Designate, as Vice Chair. Dana brings years of experience, wisdom, and leadership to support CCOA mission to support California’s older adult population.

Oct 22 2024

“The Role of Compassion in Social Change,” this year’s luncheon hosted by the Center for Jewish Care, features Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz in conversation with Michael Hopkins, CEO of Jewish Family Service, about how acts of compassion can bridge divides, heal communities and drive systemic change.

In the News

Nov 27 2024

The San Diego Union-Tribune

“The last three weeks have been filled with reflection, as November often brings. But this year feels different. It demands more courage from each of us.” This is how Dana Toppel, CEO Designate/COO, begins her discussion of how, as a community, we need to “stand side by side, grounded in our shared humanity, (and) become unbreakable.”

Nov 8 2024

Times of San Diego

Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) and other local immigration advocacy groups reaffirm their commitment to supporting refugees and asylum-seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. Michael Hopkins, CEO of JFS, emphasized the organization’s dedication to offering compassionate services, legal representation, and resettlement support to vulnerable families, ensuring that those seeking refuge are met with dignity and care.

Nov 1 2024

KQED

Illegal border crossings have plunged to the lowest level in four years, according to new data released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. To understand how that fact squares with the fraught political rhetoric, KQED looked at the current dynamics of migration at California’s border with Mexico. Several factors are contributing to the turnaround. For one, since the beginning of the year, Mexico has cracked down on migrants heading for the U.S. border. And in June, Biden issued an executive order barring access to the asylum process for those who enter illegally when crossings are high. CEO Designate Dana Toppel comments about Jewish Family Service’s role, “To us, it’s about dignity. It’s really about centering the individual and being very trauma-informed.”

Oct 23 2024

FOX 5

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria highlights the impact of the city’s Safe Parking Program, operated by Jewish Family Service, which provides unsheltered residents with a safe place to park and access to essential services like job training, housing support, and mental health care. JFS is committed to meeting people where they are in their journey, empowering them with the tools, resources, and support they need to move forward and thrive.