Attack on Logan Heights Church Affirms Fears of Incoming Homeless Storage Facility

There is a two foot crack in the glass protecting the shrine at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Logan HeightsPolice say 26-year-old Kelly Duggan, who lives on the street, threw a kneeler at it in broad daylight Tuesday. She was arrested Thursday afternoon. Deputies Raid Lakeside Home, Find Drug Lab, Guns and Children Inside This senseless act of vandalism will cost the church over $1,000 dollars.With a storage center for the homeless about to open just feet from parish grounds, all the forgiveness they have in their hearts won’t fix the anticipated problems. Car Smashes Through Wall of Home, Hits Bed Where Man Laid Asleep Our Lady’s Father “Pepe” says the broken shrine is the latest in a series of problems caused by the homeless population that is drawn here.”Our area did not cause the homelessness and it’s not up to us to resolve it,” Father Pepe said. Man Slain in Daytime Shooting in National City Identified You might say Father Pepe is the protector of the flock. Three thousand parishioners fill the pews on Sunday and 80 children fill the classrooms of Our Lady of Guadalupe School — 99 percent of the population is Latino.”These children, because they are Mexicans, they don’t deserve less than other children in the city,” Father Pepe said.Father Pepe fears the situation is about to get worse. The church community stands in the shadow of a warehouse about to become a 500 bin storage facility for the homeless.”We don’t like our children discovering syringes and used condoms on the street. This would not be happening next to the La Jolla Country Day School,” he said.Father Pepe says caring for the homeless is a shared responsibility among all San Diego neighborhoods, and it doesn’t just belong to Logan Heights.”This is not about care for the homeless, this is about getting them out of the way of everyone else,” Father Pepe said.Troubles with the transient population also forced the church to close in the afternoons, and the kids aren’t often able to use the school playground.The church and school administration voiced concerns about the homeless problems nearby.Mayor Faulconer has promised increased police patrols, security at the facility, and cleanup crews. But Father Pepe and others in the Our Lady community are skeptical.The Mayor says the storage facility could open by June 13.Photo Credit: NBC 7
Source: NBC San Diego