A Southern California shelter that helps asylum seekers and immigrants will no longer be able to house people in need because the building does not meet the city’s fire code.
“We’re hoping that we don’t have to put anyone out on the street but I can’t guarantee that won’t happen,” a pastor who works at the shelter told NBC 7 Thursday.
The shelter has operated for three years. The average stay for an asylum seeker or immigrant is 91 days, according to the pastor.
Now, he has to find beds for approximately 90 to 100 people because they have been housing more people than the fire code allows.
The cost of making necessary changes to the building are beyond their budget, he added.
They are working through Safe Harbors Network to find other churches or homes to provide shelter to the immigrants they currently serve.
The pastor said the shelter location will still serve as an intake center.
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“We can’t allow them to sleep in the building because that’s in violation of city fire code,” he said.
There are 10 churches in the Safe Harbors network including three new churches that will join the network within the next month.
