As an outreach coordinator for our Breaking Down Barriers program, Spshelle works to reduce mental health stigma and provide vital resources to underserved communities. With a military background, a Master’s in public health, and past experience working on international public health committees, she’s an incredible addition to the JFS team.

Our Higher Education Legal Services program is expanding to eight new San Diego campuses in 2020, providing free immigration legal assistance to students, faculty, and staff.

Watch Sasha Escue, our Director of Nutrition Services, highlight the JFS Foodmobile on Giving Tuesday. Thanks to our incredible supporters, we raised over $100,000 to provide isolated older adults with hot, home-delivered meals.

Ali Awow fled civil war at home and spent a year in a refugee camp in Kenya before making his way to Southern California. Now he is running a custom clothing shop. JFS was the refugee resettlement agency that helped him come to San Diego.

An AARP survey in 2018 found that 76 percent of adults over 50 would prefer to stay in their current home for as long as possible. The survey also found that only 46 percent of people thought they’d be able to do so.
Melissa Dennison, JFS Fix-It Coordinator, explains that safety concerns are some of the main hindrances to older adults aging in place.

Attorney Kate Clark, who serves as the senior director of immigration services for Jewish Family Service, told a congressional panel on Friday that officials of the Department of Homeland Security at the southern border routinely ignore DHS’s own regulations concerning the protection of unaccompanied minors and individuals with significant medical issues.

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs heard from attorneys, migrant advocates and others about humanitarian issues along our southern border. Kate Clark, JFS Senior Director of Immigration Affairs, gave evidence to the failings and abuses of MPP, otherwise known as Remain In Mexico.

CEO Michael Hopkins discusses in-studio the Safe Parking Lot recently approved by the Encinitas City Council.

In this article and video, CEO Michael Hopkins discusses stopping the cycle of chronic homeless.

College students are a growing population that use the Safe Parking Program.

Coverage of the Encinitas City Council vote on approving a Safe Parking Program location on land owned by the Leichtag Foundation.

CEO Michael Hopkins answers questions leading up to the Encinitas City Council presentation.

In an article geared for students in grades 5-6, Time for Kids explains what it means for kids to “Remain in Mexico” as they seek asylum in the U.S. Lea Bush, Senior Director of Family & Community Services, is interviewed in this great overview for people just learning about this issue.

Coverage from our press conference with ACLU announcing our class-action lawsuit demanding access to legal representation for detained migrants who have expressed a fear of being returned to Mexico. The plaintiffs, a family from Guatemala, are represented by Jewish Family Service.

This in-depth video segment follows a day-in-the-life of Celina, a young mother living in her vehicle at our Safe Parking Program. With two kids and a third one on the way, Celina has a full-time job and is working hard to find affordable housing so her kids can go to school in the United States. The Safe Parking Program provides Celina was a safe place to sleep, a community to share her day with, a Housing Specialist, and many other supportive services that help her build a stable future.

We are not mentioned in this poll, but we support our fellow Californians—of both parties—who recognize that our lives and communities are better when we welcome immigrants. We must continue to protect immigrants’ rights.

As more refugees arrive in San Diego than ever before, resettlement agencies – such as JFS – are negatively affected by the slashed arrival cap. CEO Michael Hopkins criticizes this new policy as a betrayal of our nation’s founding principles.

A group of lawyers headed by the JFS immigration team have organized Know Your Rights presentations for asylum-seekers in San Diego. Over three days, 100 individuals received vital legal information to assist them in their asylum cases.

JFS receives funding to continue to help permanent residents and refugees assimilate into American culture and prepare for citizenship.

The new cap on refugee resettlements has drastically affected the number of people arriving in San Diego. Our Director of Refugee Services, Etleva Bejko, explains the changing demographics of the refugees who are still allowed to enter the U.S.

This two-part series details the poor medical care asylum-seekers receive while in ICE custody and highlights how humanitarian organizations, such as the San Diego Rapid Response Network, often have to treat migrants with severe health issues.

The JFS Higher Education Legal Services assists students, staff, and faculty on campus who need assistance with their immigration status. This program includes DACA renewals, Know-Your-Rights workshops, general consultations, and many other targeted legal services.

Our award-winning On the Go: Navigator transportation service is taking part in a pilot program that connects older adults with free Lyft rides to their local senior center.

“These findings raise serious due process concerns,” said Kate Clark, JFS Senior Director of Immigration Services. “If asylum-seeking families are not being given vital instructions about their immigration proceedings in a language they can read or understand, how can we expect them to navigate an already complex legal process that is increasingly stacked against them?”

Seeking Asylum by the U. S. Immigration Policy Center (USIPC) at UC San Diego – Read the full report

Tom K. Wong, director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at UCSD, highlights the abuses asylum-seeking families experience in federal immigration detention facilities. Wong and his team independently analyzed data from 17,000+ asylum-seekers who came through our Migrant Family Shelter and uncovered a trend of substandard living conditions, physical and verbal abuse, and inaccurate legal information at these facilities.

Seeking Asylum by the U. S. Immigration Policy Center (USIPC) at UC San Diego – Read the full report