A San Diego park soccer program supporting refugees and immigrant youth?

Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson….it’s Thursday, JULY 31ST

A SAN DIEGO PARK SOCCER PROGRAM SUPPORTING REFUGEES AND IMMIGRANT YOUTH

More on that next. But first... the headlines….

CELEBRATIONS WERE HAD IN BAY PARK YESTERDAY TO MARK THE RE-OPENING OF THE CERRO PUEBLO APARTMENTS

LOCAL HOUSING DEVELOPER RAHD (PRONUN RAD) AND THE CATHOLIC CHARITIES DIOCESE (DIE-ASIS) ARE BEING CREDITED WITH GETTING THE SENIOR HOUSING COMPLEX UPGRADED AND UP-TO-DATE

FORTY SIX UNITS WERE PRESERVED WITH NEW KITCHENS, BATHROOMS AND MORE AND CAN BE FILLED BY QUALIFYING SENIORS AGE SIXTY TWO AND OLDER

THOSE SENIORS WILL BE ABLE TO PAY ANYWHERE FROM THIRTY to SIXTY PERCENT OF THE AREA’S ADJUSTED MEDIAN INCOME THUS QUALIFYING THE UNITS AS AFFORDABLE HOUSING

MAYOR TODD GLORIA ATTENDED THE EVENT

THE SAN DIEGO HUMANE SOCIETY HAS ANNOUNCED THAT STARTING TOMORROW AUGUST 1ST, THE ORGANIZATION WILL CUT ADOPTION FEES IN HALF FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH AND WAIVE ALL FEES ON AUGUST 23RD

THE S-D-H-S HAS NEARLY NINETEEN HUNDRED ANIMALS IN ITS CARE, NINE HUNDRED OF WHICH ARE AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE ADOPTION

THE HUMANE SOCIETY HAS LOCATIONS IN EL CAJON, ESCONDIDO, OCEANSIDE AND SAN DIEGO

JUST LIKE THAT THE RUSH THAT IS COMIC-CON HAS COME AND NOW GONE BUT FOR US LOCALS, SOME OF THE FUN LIVES ON

IF YOU’RE A CLASSIC AT HEART THEN THE PAC-MAN CAFE THAT’S STILL OPEN MIGHT PEAK YOUR INTEREST

THERE’S EXCLUSIVE MERCH, SAMPLE FOOD ITEMS, SOME FREE ARCADE GAMES AND A PAC-MAN THEMED MENU TO FEAST ON

BUT MAYBE YOUR INTERESTS ARE A BIT MORE VINTAGE …

ENTER FREE EXHIBIT “THE VINTAGE ANIMATION SHOW” LOCATED AT THE EXCLUSIVE COLLECTIONS GALLERY IN THE GASLAMP QUARTER

IT FEATURES MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED ORIGINALS CELS, WHICH WERE THE SHEETS USED FOR TRADITIONAL, HAND-DRAWN ANIMATION

YOU CAN VIEW ORIGINAL DRAWINGS FROM DISNEY, WARNER BROTHERS, HANNA BARBERA AND MORE

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST THERE IS ALWAYS THE COMIC-CON MUSEUM IN BALBOA PARK THAT’S A GREAT OPTION AS WELL

From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.

Stay with me for more of the local news you need.

OFFICIALS HAVE LIFTED THE TSUNAMI ADVISORY FOR COASTAL SAN DIEGO COUNTY … AFTER MINOR WAVES HIT THE AREA WEDNESDAY MORNING.

MIGUEL MILLER IS A METEOROLOGIST WITH THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SAN DIEGO.

HE SAYS WAVES FIRST REACHED THE BROADWAY PIER AROUND 2:15 A.M. WEDNESDAY

And then it ramped up in the highest one that we can see occurred at 5:40 a.m. and that one was reported as .24 of a meter, which is approximately nine and a half inches.

LA JOLLA SAW WAVES OF ABOUT FOUR-AND-A-HALF INCHES AROUND 4:15 AM WEDNESDAY

LARGER WAVES HIT NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, AT MORE THAN THREE AND A HALF FEET NEAR CRESCENT CITY.

EL CAJON’S POLICE CHIEF RECENTLY DECIDED HIS DEPARTMENT WOULD STOP AUTOMATICALLY RESPONDING TO CERTAIN MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS CALLS.

FOR OUR LATEST WHY IT MATTERS SEGMENT, VOICE OF SAN DIEGO REPORTER LISA HALVERSTADT EXPLAINS WHY HE MADE THAT DECISION AND THE REACTION IT’S GOTTEN.

In May, El Cajon police stopped automatically sending officers when someone threatens to harm themselves. As long as there’s not an apparent crime or danger to others.

This has sometimes meant mental health experts that contract with the county also didn’t respond or couldn’t get aid from police when they requested it.

El Cajon police say they made this decision for legal reasons. A court ruling raised questions about whether officers could face personal lawsuits for encounters with unarmed people with mental illnesses if they use excessive force.

So far, El Cajon is the only local police agency to make this change. The city also saw massive protests in 2016 after officers shot an unarmed African man who was having a mental health crisis.

County officials and advocates are pushing back. They argue El Cajon’s change presents safety issues for people in crisis and those trying to help them.

The director of the Psychiatric Emergency Response program says they saw a 33 percent drop in crisis calls in El Cajon over the past couple months compared with the same period in 2024. They can’t respond to calls without police.

El Cajon’s city manager Graham Mitchell says his city might consider changing the policy as it gets more data – and if it gets more resources from the county.

I’m Lisa Halverstadt for Voice of San Diego and that’s why it matters.

THE DONNELLY COMMUNITY SERVICES CENTER, THE IMPERIAL VALLEY’S OLDEST LGBTQ+ RESOURCE CENTER IS IN A STATE OF TURMOIL. THREE BOARD MEMBERS ARE ACCUSING THE CENTER’S CEO OF TRYING TO SEIZE CONTROL OF THE ORGANIZATION’S FUNDS.

REPORTER KORI SUZUKI IS COVERING THIS AND HE SPOKE WITH ALL THINGS CONSIDERED HOST, DEBBIE CRUZ, ABOUT THE MATTER.

“Kori, what do we know about what's happening? Well, Debbie, what we know is that earlier this month, three members of the Donnelly Center's nonprofit board voted to fire the organization's founder and longtime CEO.

The other said Diaz. Diaz has been a controversial figure recently because of an effort she led to rename the center and some statements she's made particularly about the trans community. This month three of her board members accused Diaz of removing all of the organization's funds $700,000 from their bank accounts. Do we have any more information about these allegations against Diaz? Well, the three board members who voted to fire Diaz are Carmen Zamora, Edward Gain and Shozo Hasegawa.

Last week they sent an email to Imperial County officials that Donnelly Center does a lot of work with the county. And in their email, they said Diaz had locked them out of accessing all of the organization's funds and was still acting as though she was CEO, even though they had fired her earlier this month. These three board members say they made the decision to fire Diaz because of quote significant legal concerns. So far they've refused to elaborate on what that means exactly publicly, citing ongoing legal proceedings.

They declined my requests to answer questions questions on the record. Now, the board members did share with me what appear to be copies of police reports filed in El Centro, where the center is located. One of the reports accuses Diaz of committing check fraud. The other alleges that Diaz secretly recorded a conversation with an employee. I should say a spokesperson for the El Centro Police Department has declined to verify whether or not these reports are authentic.

So, we don't know for sure, but it seems that law enforcement is also involved in the situation. Okay, so what is Well, Diaz is calling this a hostile takeover. I spoke with her over the phone and Diaz says the decision to fire her happened without following the right protocols. And so she still considers herself a legal employee of the Donnelly Center. She also denies that she committed any kind of financial wrongdoing.

Now, Diaz has declined to say whether she has taken possession of the organization's funds or to comment on on where that money is. So, what is the background here? Can you explain why Rose says a controversial Yeah, well, Diaz has been a long-time leader among the queer community in the Imperial Valley. In 2015, she founded the Donnelly Center, which was then known as the Imperial Valley LGBT Resource Center. For years, that was known as the Valley's only physical gathering place for the LGBTQ+ community.

But earlier this year, Diaz came under fire for some of her decisions and statements. Again, she led this controversial rebranding effort that stripped the center of its previous name, removed the phrase LGBT Resource Center from the name. She openly criticized a new California law that's backed by trans rights groups that barred schools from sharing a student's gender identity without their permission with their parents.

And she also opposed the recognition of Pride Month earlier this summer at an El Centro school board meeting. In March, KPBS also reported that Diaz had grown increasingly interested in the rhetoric of two organizations that spread false science about transgender people. Both are classified as hate groups by the Southern property law center, a non-profit that tracks extremism in the United States. And what does this mean for the future of the Donnelly Center?

Well, the struggle over the Donnelly Center's finances comes at a delicate moment for the organization. A number of San Diego and Imperial Valley LGBTQ Plus advocates have cut ties with the center after Diaz led led that renaming effort earlier this year. LGBTQ Plus groups nationwide are also facing this kind of downpour of executive orders, state laws, and court rulings under the second Trump administration. Other advocates in the valley are watching this closely.

I spoke with Clara Oliva, the executive director of another organization called Queer Casa. And Oliva said they hope the center will get the money back. They pointed out that the money doesn't belong to one any one person, really that it belongs to the public and to the people the Donnelly Center was set up to serve. Well, we will certainly keep an eye on all this in Imperial County. Thank you, Kori. Thank you, Debbie.”

THAT WAS SOUTH BAY AND IMPERIAL VALLEY REPORTER KORI SUZUKI, SPEAKING WITH ALL THINGS CONSIDERED HOST, DEBBIE CRUZ.

YOU MIGHT HAVE A GROCERY STORE CLUB CARD IN YOUR WALLET OR MAYBE YOU CLIP COUPONS DIGITALLY ONLINE. EITHER WAY YOU SHOP, THESE TECH ADVANCEMENTS ARE LEAVING SOME PEOPLE BEHIND… ESPECIALLY SENIORS.

RANCHO BERNARDO RESIDENT BONNIE ANN DOWD (DA-UD) SAYS SHE TRIES TO USE COUPONS FREQUENTLY.

BUT SHE SAYS DIGITAL COUPONS COULD BE ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT FOR OLDER ADULTS TO ACCESS.

what the stores were doing is everything was electronic, to be able to get the coupons —- When you start looking at the two populations, you look at a population of us that are sort of growing older and maybe have never used technology, we were being cut out.

YESTERDAY BONNIE ATTENDED A TOWN HALL ABOUT A NEW - SAN DIEGO LAW - INTENDED TO TACKLE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.

BY OCTOBER FIRST, GROCERY STORES IN THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO WILL NEED TO OFFER DIGITAL DEALS IN STORE-- WITHOUT REQUIRING DIGITAL ACCESS.

SOCCER IS PLAYED EVERYWHERE IN SAN DIEGO AND TIJUANA.

FROM SNAPDRAGON STADIUM AND ESTADIO CALIENTE … TO NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS AND STREETS.

BUT ACCESSING THE SPORT CAN BE A FINANCIAL CHALLENGE.

REPORTER JACOB AERE SAYS IN ONE SAN DIEGO PARK, A SOCCER PROGRAM IS SUPPORTING REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT YOUTH, ON-AND-OFF THE PITCH.

At Colina Del Sol Park in San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood …

… the beautiful game is bringing together young refugees and immigrants from all over the world, multiple times a week.

Khalid Hassan and Mbekalo Oredi | Soccer Program Participants

“The moment we started off here – soccer was already taking off in City Heights and San Diego."

17-year-old Khalid Hassan came to the U.S. as a child.

“Before this program, I didn't play in any soccer league or clubs, anything like that. This actually taught me how to kick a ball.”

On the basketball courts at the park, Hassan and other young boys and girls go over the fundamentals, train and play a street style of soccer, called futsal.

“We do practices and we also have games too. As of right now, on Saturdays, there's a futsal tournament for the girls.”

18-year-old July Wah (WAAH) recently joined the team.

“I’ve been playing soccer before I joined this program. I would come down to the park down there and just play. And then one day I saw Ms. Ana and her players just training and I asked if I could join her. And ever since then I've been playing with her.”

The no-cost soccer clinics are part of the FC YAP program put on by a volunteer-run organization called Young & Prosperous.

It’s funded by grants and donations.

Ana Diaz is Director of Sport for the organization.

“We have youth all the way from 5th grade to seniors. And we help them with the basic fundamentals of soccer. As soon as they get to a certain level then we start reaching out to clubs that are willing to sponsor these youth and we make those connections with them.”

Diaz has helped organize free youth soccer at the park for about a decade.

She says the kids share their culture with one another and find ways to communicate despite language barriers.

“... because of soccer it was like a universal language where we’re all talking.”

In this part of the city, Diaz says there's a lack of access to organized soccer teams because of cost.

Young and Prosperous provides all the equipment the players need. It helps many of the kids in the program, like 19-year-old Mbekalo Oredi

“If I needed soccer cleats, they helped me with that, if I needed new shoes for school they helped me with that. They really like helped me, they have been a huge part of my life.”

Diaz says FC YAP offers a positive environment off the pitch too …

“Soccer is just the hook. It's more of mentoring, we prep them for college.”

That includes tutoring and making sure the kids are on top of their grades. July’s cousin…18 year old Venus Wah (WAAH) says playing soccer also helps provide some relief.

“During the fall season I was really stressed out with college and applying and stuff. So, like it helped me mentally and physically, because it was just a little moment where I could just get away from school work and stuff. So it’s helped me a lot.”

The program has played a role for some of the youth to achieve college scholarships.

Khalid will be going to UC Riverside this fall on a full ride e academic scholarship.

19-year-old Oredi has continued with soccer thanks to a scholarship at The Master's University.

Khalid Hassan and Mbekalo Oredi | Soccer Program Participants

“And here I am playing college soccer even though I didn't play high school. I just continually was working hard and listening to my coaches."

FC YAP is personal for Diaz – she remembers coming from Mexico as a child … and not being able to afford soccer in her southeast San Diego neighborhood.

“I was in soccer as well, I also got sponsored. I also was helped a lot by people taking me, coming and going. Where I grew up there wasn't a lot of sports, especially for girls. And if you do want to play, you had to pay. So I think it's kind of like a way of giving back.”

She says kids like Oredi and Khalid are inspiring others in FC YAP.

“Mostly about soccer, what it taught me was the discipline part – keep showing up, keep showing up. Well I kept showing up.”

While soccer isn't for everyone, Oredi says now the organization has basketball and dance programs … giving more kids the same shot.

“The amount of opportunity they have – all these programs. It really helps people that are not from here and make those people feel at home and welcomed.”

Oredi and Khalid’s success stories … are bringing Diaz’s story full circle.

It's also bringing immigrant youth in City Heights together … on a team that feels like a home … away from home. JA KPBS News.

That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Lawrence K. Jackson. Thanks for supporting public media by listening and have a great day.