Casa del Sagrado Corazón

Dear Friends and Supporters of Sacred Heart Church and Casa del Sagrado Corazon shelter.

Since June, our El Paso area has experienced a large decrease in the number of asylum-seeking individuals and families that are seeking shelter. After reflection and consultation, I have decided to discontinue the work of the shelter, which was initiated on December 13, 2022. At that time, El Paso experienced and welcomed a huge flow of people from Venezuela. It was winter, people were on the streets around us, families with children and babies, and pregnant mothers. The regular shelters were packed, so it was clear that as a Church, we had to respond to this human tragedy. We did this by opening the gymnasium building without any preparation, trusting in God. The amount of support we received from people all over the U.S., as well as from El Paso was a sign that we were doing the right thing! Other churches and institutions also opened their doors. Many began to collaborate with us as we hosted as many people as we could, at times reaching 200. It was a time of pain and crisis, and many people in El Paso responded by driving to our area and dispensing food, blankets, and coats. Other churches supported us immensely, some by preparing meals on a regular basis. Our regular parish staff and many parishioners also stretched themselves to support the vulnerable people in need who came to our church, office, and shelter doors, and I'm very grateful for their generosity.

With time, with the leadership of Michael DeBruhl, and with the dedicated work of our shelter staff/team, we organized well to serve around 120 persons per night, 24/7. We functioned for about 6 months only with the generosity of many and with grants. In April 2023, we were able to apply for reimbursement for most expenses -- paid staff, utilities, food, etc. from FEMA, via funds that were received by El Paso County, but it took a while to get the system going.

Since opening Casa del Sagrado Corazón, we have served around 30,000 people! Thanks be to God! And thank you to the many generous people, in and outside El Paso, who have donated time as volunteers, sent generous donations, and/or donated items that we needed.

After President Biden's executive order in June, restricting the options for asylum seekers, we began to experience a decrease in the number of people being processed by CBP or Border Patrol. This trend continues. Upon reflection and consultation, I decided that our mission to serve in an emergency had ended. There are experienced organizations like Annunciation House and its shelter network, Border Servant Corp., and others -- and they too are experiencing low numbers -- whose main mission is sheltering so I feel that Sacred Heart can now step back, and support asylum-seeking families in other ways. Our mission as a Jesuit parish in the Segundo Barrio since 1893 has been to serve migrant/immigrant families, typically of low income. We will continue to discern how God calls us as we serve God and the People of God, as part of the Diocese of El Paso.

I'm grateful to Bishop Seitz for his support of migrants and refugees, including his support of our project/ministry here at Casa del Sagrado Corazon.

The Peace of Christ,

Fr. Rafael Garcia, S.J., Pastor,

Sacred Heart Church, El Paso