Growing Up Great with PNC Bank

Students give PNC Bank volunteer a group hug after reading activity. April 2025.

Community partners of ECS provide invaluable support to clients. One of these partners is PNC Bank, offering volunteers, classroom supplies, activities, and engagement to ECS Head Start students.

Last month, PNC Bank sent four volunteers to a Head Start center to celebrate spring. Students planted seeds and did some arts and crafts with the help of the volunteers. Afterward, students took their pots home and watched their plants flourish as they cared for them.

Students plant seeds to take home and care for. March 2025.

The springtime fun continued with PNC Bank’s Grow Up Great Month, where they focus on giving back to their community partners, and in their 21st year of building brighter futures, PNC donated new books for Head Start classrooms and a bilingual activity book for each child. Two volunteers from PNC Bank, Eva Bryant and Valerie Attisha, visited ECS San Ysidro Head Start to read with the children.

ECS is grateful for the support from PNC Bank. The volunteers and resources shared benefit ECS Head Start children, educators, and families, expanding education to a new level and creating lasting memories.

To learn more about ECS’ community partners, visit Partners — Episcopal Community Services.

Volunteers help students with a craft activity. March 2025.

Students’ plants bloom after a few weeks of care. April 2025.

Mission to Washington, D.C.

San Diego leaders in D.C. advocating for our region. April 2025.

ECS recently returned from the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 Mission to Washington, D.C., where CEO Elizabeth Fitzsimons and Director of Communications & Advocacy Adrienne Wilkerson engaged with local, state, and federal legislators to advocate for policies that uplift children, families, and communities across the San Diego region.

During the trip, they spoke with Representatives John Garamendi and Sara Jacobs, highlighting the importance of maintaining federal funding for Head Start and expanding support for early education programs.

ECS puts advocacy into action, interacting with San Diego and government leaders to garner support for our programs. April 2025.

They also participated in healthcare meetings with the offices of Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff and Representative Juan Vargas to emphasize the need for continued access to Medicaid for essential health services.

Elizabeth Fitzsimons (left) and Adrienne Wilkerson (right) build connections in D.C. April 2025.

ECS continues to champion solutions that strengthen its staff, support clients, and build a more equitable San Diego—on Capitol Hill and at home.

Learn more about ECS’ advocacy efforts: ecscalifornia.org/advocacy.

How Jeff Broke Free from Fentanyl with C-HRT Safe Haven

Substance use had surrounded Jeff his whole life, but he never imagined he would become addicted. However, when he began to experience excruciating pain in his hip, he fell into the clutches of fentanyl. Control over his life vanished; he lost his job and his apartment. He tried quitting, but it felt impossible without any support.

C-HRT gave Jeff the sanctuary he needed to commit to sobriety and take his life back into his own hands. February 2025.

Luckily, Jeff found ECS C-HRT Safe Haven. C-HRT gave him a safe place to sleep, food to eat, and a community that embraced him in his recovery journey. With the help of C-HRT, Jeff went completely substance free, found a job, got a hip replacement, and moved into his own housing. The program gave him the sanctuary he needed to take back his life and move forward. Watch Jeff’s video to hear him tell his story and visit ECS C-HRT Safe Haven to learn more.

EDSD Establishes Hope with Comunidad de Luz

The Rt. Rev. Susan Brown Snook (third from the left) and other community leaders celebrate the grand opening of Comunidad de Luz. March 2025.

The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego (EDSD) has partnered with three other organizations — Via International, the Anglican Diocese of Western Mexico, and Vida Joven — to establish Comunidad de Luz, or Community of Light, a new shelter in Southern Tijuana that aims to provide the necessary wholistic care for women and children in need.

The San Diego/Tijuana border is one of the busiest in the nation. According to the Latin Times, “about 200 people have been deported daily from San Diego to Tijuana since June [2024].” Since the increase of immigration enforcement in January, this number may be rising.

Tijuana is a hub for asylum seekers. Many either await entry into the U.S. or grapple with potential next steps after being deported. Migrants waiting for entry may be stuck in Tijuana for months or even years and, since many are not from Tijuana, they lack the proper legal status or permits to work, driving them quickly into poverty. Deportees may stay in Tijuana if their family is still in the U.S., but adjusting to an unfamiliar place with no connections poses a challenge and potentially a dangerous situation.

ECS CEO Elizabeth Fitzsimons and ECS Board of Directors Chair The Rt. Rev. Dr. Susan Brown Snook visit Comunidad de Luz. March 2025.

Due to the traumatic experiences many endure, migrants and deportees may also struggle with mental health issues like anxiety and depression. They are in need of so much more than just a place to sleep at night; they need long-term care.

Comunidad de Luz can serve up to 100 women and children at once. They offer services such as job training, language classes, childcare, and psychological support. A shelter like this offers resources and community support, which is critical for many migrants/deportees who have no one else to turn to. Comunidad de Luz provides hope and rebuilds lives.

EDSD youth engaged in service trips to repair and prep the space, while diocese members contributed funds. This project falls in line with EDSD’s Migration Ministry.

Congratulations to EDSD on the grand opening of Comunidad de Luz. This is a meaningful step forward in honoring the dignity and resilience of those experiencing migration, loss, and the hope for something better. Read more about EDSD’s involvement in Comunidad de Luz.