BARRIO LOGAN (KGTV) — A new center dedicated to helping immigrants and their families officially opened in Barrio Logan, offering legal assistance, mental health resources, and community support during a time of increased immigration enforcement in San Diego County.
The Pope Francis Center, part of Our Lady of Guadalupe parish, launched with balloons and brightly colored streamers marking its official opening. The organization describes itself as having a long history as an immigrant parish serving the community.
"In this particular moment, a lot of the needs are with families who have been in the United States for many, many years. They've been here for decades. Many of them are our parishioners," Brinkley Johnson, the founding manager for the Pope Francis Center, said.
The facility includes several specialized rooms, including a legal office where staff will conduct consultations with people seeking assistance. The center focuses on educating immigrants about their rights and connecting them with emergency legal support.
"We educate people on their rights, letting them know what they can do, connecting them with emergency legal support or other types of resources when there is an ICE raid, when a family member is detained," Johnson said.
Beyond legal assistance, the Pope Francis Center provides mental health and community resources designed to offer emotional, spiritual and mental support. The facility also features a chapel and a dedicated waiting room for children, complete with books and toys.
While the center is not primarily focused on resettlement services, staff members do connect newly arrived community members with resources to help them stay safe and support their families.
Center leaders say these resources are particularly important given recent immigration enforcement activity in the area. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement data, there were 4,600 arrests made in San Diego County from last year through mid-October.
"There's a lot of also unique things that we can support people with as a church we have, you know, a lot of discretion, um, to be able to support people in their particular needs and those kind of come up case by case," Johnson said.
The center was named after the late Pope Francis, who leaders describe as an example to their faith community.
"We have to as people of faith as Christians, as as people of goodwill, we're really called to accompany those on the margins, those who are oppressed, those who are being persecuted and to not just simply pray for them but to show up for them and to work for a better tomorrow," Johnson said.
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