SAN DIEGO (Updated Feb. 18, 2025) – Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) is working to meet the evolving needs of the community in response to recent and anticipated federal policy changes. With a deep commitment to its core value of “Welcome the Stranger,” JFS is focusing its immigration efforts on providing pro bono legal services and community support resources. On Jan. 20, 2025, the federal government ceased use of the CBP One application, which allowed migrants to request asylum at U.S. ports of entry. With migrants no longer able to use the CBP One application, the San Diego Rapid Response Network (SDRRN) Migrant Shelter Services, operated by JFS, has not received new asylum seeking families and individuals released from short term federal custody into our care. Due to these changes in federal funding and policy, the SDRRN Migrant Shelter Services will be paused until there is better understanding of future community needs.

Jewish Family Service of San Diego and the Center for Jewish Care at JFS are excited to open the next round of scholarship applications for Jewish students in the local community pursing higher education — including college, university, graduate or technical school.

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.

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.

The City of La Mesa and Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) are launching the City’s first-ever Older Adult Rental Assistance Program, assisting seniors aged 55 and older who are at risk of homelessness. The program, operated by JFS, will provide 40 participants with a $500 monthly housing subsidy paid directly to their landlords for 12 months and individualized case management. Applications are being accepted beginning the last week of March. Priority will be given to applications filed by April 4.

Featured in The San Diego Union Tribune, a new rental assistance program in La Mesa, operated by Jewish Family Service of San Diego, aims to provide rental subsidies to seniors to prevent homelessness.

Meet Phil, a dedicated volunteer with Jewish Family Service (JFS), where he supports multiple programs. He delivers hot meals to older adults once a week, helps low-income families with tax preparation, and occasionally assists older adults with small handyman projects through the JFS Fix-It program. Phil also volunteers as a driver for JFS’s On the Go program, helping older adults remain active, healthy, and connected to their community. To explore the many ways you can give back, visit www.jfssd.org/volunteer.

President Donald Trump froze the federal funding that allowed resettlement agencies to support newly arrived refugees. Michael Hopkins, CEO of Jewish Family Service of San Diego, said that his organization received a stop work order and is fundraising to support the 22 recently arrived families in its care. That includes a family of six from Afghanistan who arrived the day before the stop work order, Hopkins said. The father of the family had worked with the U.S. military, he said.