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VIRGINIA BEACH — A former group home for runaway teen girls could be used for unaccompanied migrant children who have crossed the southern U.S. border illegally and are waiting to be reunited with family living in the U.S.
The City Council will vote Tuesday on modifications to the existing group home permit for 642 N. Lynnhaven Road, owned by St. Nicholas Catholic Church. Commonwealth Catholic Charities would manage the housing program and efforts to place the children with family members.
Several residents who live in the surrounding Kings Grant neighborhood expressed concerns at a planning commission meeting April 12. One of the main issues for neighbors was the original proposal that would have not limited the length of a resident’s stay and the proximity of the group home to a nearby elementary school.
Steve Nimitz, president of the King’s Grant Community League, also told commission members that the church and city have not communicated with residents about the details of the group home proposal, which has left them feeling uneasy about it. Nimitz asked for the matter to be deferred.
Despite the concerns, the commission unanimously recommended approval of the permit, but they set a condition that limits residency in the group home to 90 days. The permit also states that no more than 10 unaccompanied minors, ranging from 5 to 17 years old, would be able to live there.
The building, which Seton House had previously used as a two-week shelter for runaway teens, has been vacant for two years. It includes offices, classroom space, a dining area and recreation space on the first floor. The second floor would be modified to include a mix of individual and shared bedrooms to accommodate siblings, according to the permit application.
Jay Brown, chief executive officer of Commonwealth Catholic Charities, and Loretta Jackson, local program manager for Commonwealth Catholic Charities, explained at the planning commission meeting the steps involved.
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Potential residents of the group home will come to Virginia Beach from an intake facility in Texas, Jackson said.
In most situations, the children are apprehended by Customs and Border Patrol and then transferred to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which determines if there’s a reasonable case for a child to gain citizenry status in the U.S., Brown said.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement then contracts with local state licensed facilities like Commonwealth Catholic Charities to care for the children and reunite them with family members who reside in the U.S. Those family members will undergo background checks while the minor stays in the group home, he said.
“Our job is to care for them, to educate them, to provide them with social assistance, with mental health assistance, with nutritional services, and to reunite them with their family,” said Brown.
Commonwealth Catholic Charities operates a similar ministry in Richmond where, on average, children are placed with a sponsor in 27 days, he said.
Nearly 130,000 migrant children entered the U.S. government’s shelter system in fiscal year 2022, a record high. Approximately 72% of those referred to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services were older than 14, and 64% were boys, according to the department.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com