Across the border in Tijuana, Casa de Luz provides safety, healing and renewal for LGBTQ+ refugees when they need it most.
by scott leonard
In a quiet neighborhood just beyond the U.S.–Mexico border, a sanctuary glows with a warmth that has nothing to do with twinkling lights or holiday décor. Casa de Luz is its name. A refuge where LGBTQ+ refugees fleeing persecution, violence, or the threat of death find what many haven’t felt in years: safety.
While the world enters its festive “season of giving,” this shelter experiences that spirit every day, turning compassion into survival and generosity into hope.
For founder Jack Nooren, the journey began with a moment of reckoning. He recalls standing in Tijuana, listening to stories he “honestly wasn’t prepared to hear,” Stories of queer and trans individuals being harassed, assaulted, or turned away from shelters simply for who they were.
“I’m a real estate developer. My entire life is literally about buildings and safety and I’m going to walk away from this?” he remembers thinking. What started as offering temporary housing soon grew into something far more substantial.
But Casa de Luz did not begin with Nooren alone.
Six years ago, everything changed when Nooren met Irving Mondragón, a frontline organizer who had already opened a small LGBTQ+ refuge inside an abandoned house he and others were renting.
Irving had started the original shelter with extraordinary courage, creating a haven where none existed. Nooren joined him in support, delivering food and clothing and stepping in wherever he was needed.
As the number of refugees grew, Nooren purchased and fully renovated a permanent home for the shelter; a 23-room building, which he continues to provide rent-free. Simultaneously, he founded a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) to ensure stable, long-term financial support for the work he and Irving were building together.
Transforming that newly renovated building into a licensed shelter became a grueling two-year ordeal. Their application was rejected four times, and Casa de Luz was on the brink of closure. In a final effort to save the sanctuary Irving had started, Nooren reached out to San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria through longtime supporter Nicole Murray Ramirez of the Imperial Court. Everything shifted.
The shelter license was approved within six months, and, in a powerful moment of cross-border unity, the Mayor of San Diego and the Mayor of Tijuana stood side by side at the ribbon-cutting. Casa de Luz officially had a home created through Irving’s vision, Nooren’s investment, and a shared belief that LGBTQ+ refugees deserve safety and dignity.
Today, Casa de Luz shelters 60–70 LGBTQ+ refugees at a time. Individuals represent more than 35 countries, where being queer or trans can lead to imprisonment or violence. Residents receive meals, beds, medical care, legal support and mental-health resources. But the shelter’s heartbeat is the community that forms within its walls: people healing, supporting and rebuilding together.
For Nooren, generosity has taken on an entirely new meaning. “Generosity, to me now, isn’t about the size of the check — it’s about the proximity to the need,” he said. He’s watched volunteers cross the border after work to cook dinner, doctors treat residents quietly off the books, and lawyers deeply discount their fees. “It’s a choreography of tiny daily choices,” he said. Choices that keep dozens of people alive and supported.
During the holidays, that choreography becomes especially poignant. “The ‘season of giving’ for us is really the season of remembering. Remembering that for many residents, this is the first time in years they feel safe enough to breathe,” Nooren said.
Casa de Luz decorates, cooks special meals, and recreates home-country traditions. Supporters sponsor meals and buy gifts. Donors keep critical bills covered — food, utilities, and medical care — so the season can feel warm rather than precarious.
Inside, the holidays are both beautiful and bittersweet. Many residents are spending their first holiday away from biological family. Some due to rejection, others because returning home would be dangerous. Casa de Luz acknowledges that grief openly, then creates community around it: shared meals, movie nights, game nights, and rituals where everyone shares a hope for the coming year.
“We can’t replace ‘home,’ but we can offer warmth and community while they rebuild it.”Beyond celebrations, the shelter’s needs remain constant and often invisible. “Infrastructure is one of the most essential needs,” Nooren said. Water heaters, plumbing, HVAC and constant repairs are crucial to keeping a 23-room building functioning.
Legal and mental-health services are equally vital, guiding residents through trauma and the complex asylum process. “When people give, they’re not just supporting a shelter; they’re sustaining an ecosystem of survival.”
Despite the challenges, Nooren emphasizes how profoundly the residents have shaped him. “People might be surprised by how much the residents have given to me,” he said. He has learned to step back and let the community lead, watching individuals who’ve survived unimaginable circumstances become the first to welcome newcomers or advocate for others. “The gift in all the challenge is witnessing what queer community looks like when survival, not optics, is the focus.”
Looking ahead, Casa de Luz hopes to expand from immediate shelter into a full pathway of stability: deeper mental-health care, legal support, job training and additional transitional housing. “We already have a 23-room facility; the goal is to deepen the support inside it,” he said. His holiday wish for Southern California’s LGBTQ+ community is heartfelt: “Adopt us as your little sibling across the border.”
This season, Casa de Luz reminds us that giving is more than a moment — it’s a movement. And year after year, through community, compassion, and courage, the shelter continues to be what it has always been: A sanctuary of love. A commitment to dignity. And the brightest reminder that hope grows strongest where we choose to care for one another. casadeluz.com
HOW YOU CAN HELP CASA DE LUZ THIS SEASON
- Become a Monthly Donor. Even small monthly contributions have an outsized impact. They help cover essentials like food, medication, utilities and repairs. The backbone of supporting a 23-room LGBTQ+ refugee shelter.
- Sponsor a Holiday Meal or Resident Gift. Casa de Luz recreates holiday traditions shared by residents from more than 35 countries. Sponsoring meals or gifting basic necessities helps bring warmth to an otherwise difficult season.
- Support Legal & Mental-Health Services. Asylum cases are complex and emotionally taxing. Your donations help fund lawyers, caseworkers and mental-health professionals who guide residents through trauma and legal pathways.
- Help Maintain the Shelter’s Infrastructure. Plumbing, HVAC, water heaters and constant repairs are essential to keeping the 23-room facility functioning and are some of the shelter’s highest year-round costs.
- Share Their Mission. Awareness saves lives. Tell friends, post on social media, and invite your networks to learn more about LGBTQ+ refugees and how Casa de Luz supports their journey to safety.
- Visit or Volunteer. Many supporters cross the border to cook meals, help decorate or simply spend time with residents. Time and human connection matter deeply, especially during the holidays.