SAN DIEGO — A refugee program run by Catholic Charities dropped off a family with two young children, September 20, at a downtown homeless shelter.
The second time in less than a week that the charity dropped refugees off at homeless shelters.
For the second time in a week, homeless advocate Michael McConnell witnessed the charity's van pull up and escort refugees into the Neil Good Day Center for processing.
The latest example of Catholic Charities dropping off refugees at a downtown shelter occurred just days after CBS 8 spoke to two men, Faud and Omer, who had been staying with the non-profit before the organization told them their time was up.
"I'm not homeless. I need help," 26-year-old Omer told CBS 8 on September 16. "I want to make life here, I want to have [a] safe life. I want to bring my mom, my younger brother so they have opportunity."
Meanwhile, Kevin Eckerty the spokesperson for the Catholic Diocese in San Diego told CBS 8 in a previous statement that state funding only pays for 30-days of shelter.
Most of the time, added Eckerty, refugees have had a chance to meet up with their sponsors. For those, however, without sponsors or family here, that process is more difficult.
"The situation seems to boil down to the persons involved getting 'timed-out' of the program," said Eckerty. "Most persons who enter the USA through the asylum program enter, are processed by ICE, catch their breath, receive some medical care, and move on to stay with family, friends, or some other sponsor."
Added Eckerty, "The federal/state-funded program provides for 30-days of support. In this case, Catholic Charities extended that for another 30-days. At the end of the sixty days they were required to leave the government-supported housing, but having nowhere else to go, the men were given shelter at Father Joe’s Villages. They weren’t turned out onto the street and they would continue to receive support."
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