San Diego migrant aid organizations secure $43M in federal funding
Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego and Jewish Family Service of San Diego will split the money for migrant shelter, medical aid and other services
Two local organizations secured an additional $43 million in federal funding to help recently arrived migrants with services such as shelter, medical care and transportation, Rep. Juan Vargas announced this week.
The money comes from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Shelter and Services Program, or SSP, which is intended for non-federal entities that provide humanitarian services to migrants released after being processed by U.S. Border Patrol. It comes on top of $39.2 million total that Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego and the county of San Diego received in April, with about $19 million going to each.
This time, Catholic Charities was granted $21 million and Jewish Family Service of San Diego about $22 million, according to FEMA’s website.
Since April 2021, Catholic Charities’ local respite shelters have served more than 360,000 people from over 146 countries, including 95,000 during the current federal fiscal year alone, said CEO Appaswamy “Vino” Pajanor.
“This critical funding supports us to continue our mission of serving the most vulnerable families and individuals, who receive comprehensive trauma-informed care at our Migrant Respite Shelters,” Pajanor said in a statement.
While the number of migrant encounters was down nearly 40 percent in July from the previous month, San Diego was still the busiest Border Patrol sector along the southwestern border, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Officials have attributed the drop to the implementation of President Joe Biden’s executive order restricting access to asylum.
The significant decrease means the Catholic Charities has lately been able to receive everyone who is released by the Border Patrol after processing, a spokesperson said Wednesday. When numbers were much higher in previous months, the shelters were only able to take the most vulnerable, and the rest were dropped off by Border Patrol at a transit station in south San Diego.
Jewish Family Service runs the San Diego Rapid Response Network Migrant Shelter, providing migrants with temporary places to stay and helping them continue on their journeys elsewhere in the U.S.
“Everyone seeking asylum and refuge in the United States should be treated with respect, dignity, and humanity,” said Vargas in a statement. “This badly needed funding will help San Diego nonprofits continue to provide migrant communities with food, shelter, and other critical services.”
By: ALEXANDRA MENDOZA
Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune