Jewish Family Service Open New Campus

Longtime Federation Partner and community bastion Jewish Family Service unveils new campus helping expand the organizations outreach capabilities. Mazel tov to Jewish Family Service – here’s to many more years of unparalleled care in our community.

Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) officially opened its new campus on January 31 with a special dedication to Joan and Irwin Jacobs for their 20 years of championing the agency, and celebration for all of the capital campaign donors who made the “Joan & Irwin Jacobs Campus” possible. 

The ceremony marked the completion of a four-year-long project to consolidate JFS’s employees, programs, and services from satellite locations throughout San Diego to two neighboring buildings on Balboa Avenue.

“The Joan & Irwin Jacobs campus is intentionally designed as a reflection of our principles of being client-centered, promoting collaboration, and improving our ability to deliver life-changing services,” said JFS CEO Michael Hopkins. “The campus is designed to put clients first. We have positioned many of the services a client needs in a positive, healing environment.”

In addition to private and collaborative office spaces, the new campus features a state-of-the-art, 1,800-square-foot industrial kitchen to produce roughly 80,000 hot kosher meals annually for low-income and elderly San Diegans; a client-choice food pantry, The Corner Market, that allows clients to “shop” for the food and hygiene items that best meet their family’s needs; an outdoor play space and edible garden; and a white noise sound system in the ceiling to help maintain client confidentiality during counseling sessions.

Mission Hills-based architects Safdie Rabines were tapped to redesign the two buildings that form the Campus into light, airy spaces that improve the client experience, and include multiple open workspaces for staff to collaborate and develop strategies to meet client needs.

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Ah I would love Shalom Bayit with all in my new San Diego Jewish community coming here from the East to downtown senior housing in the fall. I looked forward to the support services of JFS as I got "really older" and hoped to sort a few things out with a person who struggles with some of the rabbi teachings as I have now I am settled in.
However, the new JFS campus on Balboa Avenue is not safely accessible by a bus that I take not only because it is safer for me not to drive but because in the 1970's environmental protection thinking I adopted, taking public transit is one of the best ways to not pollute the air or land.
The 60 bus that goes by the JFS has limited commuter hour service
and there is no sidewalk to traverse the long way from the 120 bus at Balboa Avenue and Kearny Villa Road--one walks in a narrow lined off area on the thorough fare.
Perhaps MTS can be persuaded to exapnd 60 service all day or just as good reroute the 120 down Balboa Avenue and up Ruffin Road on its way to its end destination at the Kearny Mesa Transit station given its current route there is duplicated by the 20.
Also there would need to be a cross walk on the other side of Balboa Avenue for safe passage across to the JFS.
And no I don't want a ride from anyone doing charity work on my behalf or impose upon friends for a ride. I want to be full independent as long as I can be by taking public transit.
Thank you for reading this. I know we Jewish people are criticized if not worse all the time, but perhaps my writing this will be the start of the JFS new campus's being totally and completely environmentally friendly with expanded all day 60 bus or rerouted 120 bus service so all of us can move forward together. Shavua Tov.