More families who need help putting food on the table are turning to The Corner Market. JFS is getting an increased number of calls for help with food assistance because of the end of pandemic-era benefits and the rising cost of living, according to Tom Stewart, JFS’s Director of Division Operations, Nutrition Services. Shoppers at The Corner Market can select nutritious foods free of charge based on a point system. Instead of being handed a bag full of food, people have “a dignified experience of going shopping for themselves,” said Stewart, and “get to choose what works best for their family.”

On the podcast, Rabbi Philip Graubart and Ali Viterbi sat down with Michael Hopkins, CEO of Jewish Family Service of San Diego to discuss Deuteronomy 15:11 and our responsibility to open our hands to “the poor and needy kin in our land”.

JFS announced our new board chair, Deborah Bucksbaum, who succeeds Emily Jennewein, at our annual meeting at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD). During her tenure on the board, Deborah advocated for affordable housing and formed JFS’s housing committee. New board members include: Nadia Farjood, litigation associate with O’Melveny & Myers; Seth Krosner, trauma and critical care surgeon at Scripps Mercy Hospital; and Adam Rosenthal, partner and employment attorney with Sheppard Mullin. Outgoing board members include: Kira Finkenberg; former board chair Adam Welland; and Karin Toronto. Treasurer Sheldon Derezin was given the Charles Zibbell Board Leadership Award. Winners of the Henrietta Rubenstein Staff Award: Tania Garcia Aguirre, of JFS Safe Parking; and Luis Gonzales, JFS Immigration Legal Services. The Board Chair’s Award went to JFS’s Welcome the Stranger efforts, including: the San Diego Raid Response Network (SDRRN), Immigration Legal Services, and refugee resettlement.

JFS has named Deborah Bucksbaum as its next board chair, succeeding Emily Jennewein. New board members include Nadia Farjood, a litigation associate with O’Melveny & Myers; Seth Krosner, a trauma and critical care surgeon at Scripps Mercy Hospital; and Adam Rosenthal, a partner with Sheppard Mullin. During JFS’s annual meeting, treasurer Sheldon Derezin was given the Charles Zibbell Board Leadership Award. and two JFS staff members—Tania Garcia Aguirre, of JFS Safe Parking, and Luis Gonzales, of Immigration Legal Services–each received the Henrietta Rubenstein Staff Award.

San Diego Business Journal (SDBJ) recognizes JFS CEO Michael Hopkins as a finalist for 2023 CEO of the Year.

The San Diego County Seniors Community foundation (SDSCF) has awarded JFS’s College Avenue Center $10,000. The grant is part of a program to implement SDSCF’s “San Diego Master Plan for Senior Center,” a countywide plan to enhance modern senior centers across local communities. “With the help of this grant,” said Kristine Stensberg, senior director of Nutrition and Aging Care Services at JFS, “we will continue to make connections and provide the help and assistance seniors in our community need.”

At its annual meeting at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD), JFS announced Deborah Bucksbaum as its next board chair, along with three new board members including Nadia Farjood, a litigation associate with O’Melveny & Myers; Seth Krosner, a trauma and critical care surgeon at Scripps Mercy Hospital; and Adam Rosenthal, a partner with Sheppard Mullin. Outgoing board members Kira Finkenberg, former board chair Adam Welland, and Karin Toronto were recognized for their impactful service. Treasurer Sheldon Derezin was given the Charles Zibbell Board Leadership Award. Tania Garcia Aguirre, of JFS Safe Parking, and Luis Gonzales, JFS Immigration Legal Services, each received the Henrietta Rubenstein Staff Award. “It is an honor to work with such purpose-driven and empathic people,” said CEO Michael Hopkins.

The San Diego Seniors Foundation (SDSCF) has awarded JFS’s College Avenue Center a $10,000 grant as part of its mission to improve the quality of older adult centers and organizations in the region. Research shows that involvement in community centers leads to higher levels of social interaction, life satisfaction and better health for those who participate.

Shala Waines, the founder of San Diego’s monthly Soul Swapmeet for Black entrepreneurs, turned to JFS’s Hand Up Cars program for car financing and financial counseling. “Helpful is not even the word—it’s been a lifesaver,” says the single mom, who uses the Elantra to build her business, get her teenage daughter to school, do errands, and make UberEats and DoorDash deliveries. Hand Up Cars helps working parents with low-to-moderate incomes and challenged credit histories. The program also paid for a new transmission for the Elantra, which after five years is nearly paid off.

Encinitas will continue with its Homeless Action Plan, despite a small decrease in the number of people experiencing homelessness throughout coastal North County, based on January’s annual point-in-time count. Encinitas is bundled with Solana Beach and Del Mar in the homeless count; the total number of unsheltered people in those cities dropped from 76 to 73 in the past year. Oceanside and Carlsbad also saw decreases. “Quite frankly I don’t really put much credence in the numbers,” said Encinitas Mayor Tony Kranz. JFS operates a Safe Parking lot in Encinitas.

Jewish Family Service operates several guaranteed income programs, providing no-strings attached cash payments to low-income San Diegans to help them make ends meet. The money is provided for families and older adults to use at their discretion and is being studied as a way of helping stabilize people on the brink of becoming homeless. As Michael Smolens writes, “The growth of the program comes in the wake of a major study that suggests an extra $300 to $500 each month could have made the difference in keeping many people in California from falling into homelessness — or could help them pull out of it.”

JFS is expanding services to help food-insecure San Diegans by making our grocery-style food pantry, The Corner Market, more accessible by expanding evening hours five days a week as well as our online ordering, which offers curbside pickup. This, in response to increased demand as thousands of low-income families face higher food bills after losing pandemic-era benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) at the end of March. “As the SNAP benefits are going away, people are trying to stretch all of their limited resources as much as possible,” said Kristine Stensberg, JFS’s Senior Director of Nutrition and Aging Care Services. JFS volunteers at The Corner Market are also helping clients sign up for CalFresh benefits.

San Diego welcomed more than 400 refugees last quarter, according to Ross Fackrell, JFS’s director of refugee resettlement. JFS offers refugees support with housing – permanent and temporary – along with employment. “We walk with families and individuals through longer periods of time, particularly in the area of economic empowerment,” said Fackrell.

The San Diego County Senior Transportation Program (SDCSTP), operated by JFS’s On the Go, is expanding its free ride service is to make sure all older adults have access to safe, reliable transportation that meets their mobility needs. SDCSTP will be available to low-income older adults in certain zip codes, whether they are ambulatory or utilize wheelchairs or other mobility devices. Those who do not meet low-income eligibility requirements may still access On the Go, which offers affordable, flexibly options.

JFS CEO Michael Hopkins is a finalist for San Diego Business Journal’s 2023 CEO of the Year Award. The award recognizes contributions to organizational growth, leadership, and community involvement.

JFS’S chief financial officer Bernadette Griggs — who earned her undergraduate accounting degree at SDSU while working full-time and raising two sons — is profiled by the Fowler College of Business. A math whiz, Bernadette grew up in a home with no running water or electricity in the village of Hopkins, Belize. She came to the United States as a teenager, which helps her empathize with young immigrants and DACA participants. “JFS was a perfect agency for me to join because of the invaluable work it does in the community,” she says. Bernadette was recently named CFO of The Year in the nonprofit sector by The San Diego Business Journal.

JFS is one of 23 local nonprofit organizations receiving a grant from the Early Childhood Initiative at the San Diego Foundation and the Dr. Seuss Foundation. The grant will support our work on early childhood education and resources for families with young children.

The San Diego Foundation (SDF) and the Dr. Seuss Foundation are awarding $1.15 million in grants to 23 local nonprofit organizations, including JFS. The grants will support early childhood education and other resources for families with young children, including literacy. “When we invest in affordable quality early education,” said SDF President and CEO Mark Stuart, “we’re investing in our region’s families and the local workforce.”

The San Diego Business Journal has named Mike Phillips, JFS’s Senior Director of Patient Advocacy and Health Services, as one of its 2023 Top Professionals in Behavioral Health. Mike is being recognized for overseeing several programs dedicated to supporting the behavioral, mental, and emotional health of more than 70,000 people a year.

“Our immigration system is broken,” says Kate Clark, JFS’s Senior Director of Immigration Services, as she calls on the public to hold elected officials accountable for rebuilding the immigration system. The Border Patrol recently created a horrific humanitarian situation, detaining hundreds of migrants between the border fences. San Diego Rapid Response Network (SDRRN) Migrant Shelter Services, which is operated by JFS, stands ready to continue to help asylum seekers, despite restrictive new border policies imposed by the Biden Administration after Title 42 was lifted on May 11.

The San Diego Rapid Response Network (SDRRN) Migrant Shelter Services, which is operated by JFS, is assisting Afghan refugees who were U.S. allies during the war but were left behind when American troops left Kabul in 2021. Thousands are fleeing the country, fearing retaliation from the Taliban. Many know the Biden Administration is clamping down on immigration but are risking the perilous journey from South America through the Darien Gap, which is being advertised on TikTok, Facebook, and WhatsApp by smugglers claiming it is safe. Once in Border Patrol custody, they are considered “aliens,” subject to deportation. The Afghans qualify for humanitarian parole in the U.S., but few have been approved.

Humanitarian groups, including Immigrants Defenders Law Center and the American Friends Service Committee, are calling attention to what they call human rights violations by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Since the lifting of Title 42 border restrictions, the San Diego Rapid Response Migrant Shelter Service, which is operated by JFS, has seen as many as five times more migrants per day than average, according to JFS’s Kate Clark, Senior Director of Immigration Services. Clark says JFS is coordinating the processing of asylum-seekers with federal partners, including the Department of Homeland Security.

Vista City Council Member Katie Melendez says the Civic Center parking lot on Eucalyptus Avenue will be a great location for JFS’s new Safe Parking lot, which is expected to open in August. JFS will provide case management services to help participants find stable housing. “The lot in Vista will be pretty similar to the one in Encinitas,” said Chris Olsen, JFS’s Chief of Staff. “It will also have 25 spaces.” Most of the people using the Encinitas lot are over 50 and have full-time jobs, he says.

The long-term financial impact on 2,250 families and individuals receiving a $4,000 grant from JFS’s Recovery Action Fund for Tomorrow (RAFT) will be studied by the County’s Office of Evaluation, Performance and Analytics. “Inflation compounds the issues that were already existing for these families,” said Khea Pollard, JFS’s Director of Economic Mobility and Opportunity. Recipients are free to use the money however they decide. “The intent is we want the families to prioritize their needs,” said Alberto Banuelos, the Assistant Director of the County’s Health and Human Services Agency’s Self-Sufficiency Services department.

The response from local community groups aiding migrants since the end of Title 42 is credited with helping the situation from becoming more dire. “We have seen – especially in our community – the ability for us to move forward together as a … community united in our values of welcoming the stranger,” said JFS’s Senior Director of Immigration Services Kate Clark. Customs and Border Protection has now processed the large groups of migrants the Border Patrol was keeping in open-air holding areas near the border walls.