A place to turn: The 41st Annual Mountain Affair keeps support close to home

On October 30, neighbors will gather under the redwoods to preserve the food assistance, counseling, crisis response and disaster recovery services that help ensure San Lorenzo Valley families have somewhere to turn when they need it most.

“Community Bridges helped me hold my family, this house, and my own wellbeing together.”

For Merritt Grooms, that support came at a moment when one crisis was quickly becoming many.

After a January 2023 disaster caused major damage to her San Lorenzo River home, Merritt faced nearly $30,000 in repairs after her insurance claim was denied.

That’s when Mountain Community Resources stepped in.

With help from our dedicated MCR Advocate Suzie, Merritt secured grant funding to make the repairs possible. The center also loaned her industrial dehumidifiers to address water and mold damage while the work was being arranged.

But repairing the house was only part of what her family needed.

Merritt was raising two teenagers as a single mother, working full-time and caring for her own mother. As those responsibilities mounted, Mountain Community Resources connected her with a therapist so she would not have to carry everything alone.

More recently, the center has helped her search for affordable housing that would allow her children to finish high school in the community they call home.

Merritt’s experience illustrates something Mountain Community Resources sees everyday: how a difficult moment rarely arrives by itself.

Merrit Grooms and her child received the assistance they needed from Mountain Community Resources dedicated team.

Damage to a home can quickly become a financial crisis. Financial pressure can affect a parent’s emotional well-being. Housing instability can disrupt a child’s education and separate a family from the people and places that anchor their lives.

That’s exactly why having a trusted place to turn matters.

Support That Changes with the Moment

For 43 years, Mountain Community Resources has helped San Lorenzo Valley residents navigate challenges that rarely fit neatly into a single category.

A family may first walk through the doors for food and discover help applying for public benefits. A parent looking for housing assistance may also find counseling, parenting support, or a legal consultation. When disaster strikes, residents can turn to local professionals who already know their community and are prepared to help them take the next step.

That flexibility is at the heart of the center’s work. Mountain Community Resources staff listen first, build trust and help people navigate what comes next, because lasting stability.

The Mountain Affair provides an opportunity for the San Lorenzo Valley community to reconnect and hear about successes and growing need.

Mountain Community Resources roots stretch back to the community response following the devastating 1982 mudslides. Since then, the center has continued to work alongside residents, local organizations and emergency responders, to help the Valley prepare for and recover from fires, storms and other disasters.

Today, Mountain Community Resources directly serves 744 community members whose households include 1,809 people, including 376 children and teenagers.

Last year alone, the center provided:

5,170 bags of food
575 crisis-support visits
427 hours of counseling

Behind every number is a neighbor experiencing something deeply personal: groceries brought home to a family, a parent finding support through a safe conversation during a crisis, or a person hearing the reassurance they need the most, “You don’t have to figure this out alone.”

One Evening with an Impact All Year

On Friday, October 30, that spirit of neighbors helping neighbors will fill Highlands Park & Senior Community Center in Ben Lomond for the 41st Annual Mountain Affair, Mountain Community Resources’ signature fundraiser and a celebration of the people that make the San Lorenzo Valley special.

“Mountain Community Resources has been part of the San Lorenzo Valley for more than four decades because this community has always understood the importance of neighbors taking care of neighbors,” said Community Bridges CEO Raymon Cancino. “MCR is a trusted place to turn. Mountain Affair gives people a chance to celebrate this community while making sure that support will be here when a neighbor needs it.”

Guests will gather for food prepared by Chef Marina Camarlinghi and grill master Victor Cuevas-Sanchez of Barbara & Company Catering, wines from Alfaro Family Wines, live music, and a silent auction showcasing the generosity of local businesses and community partners.

Every ticket, sponsorship, and Fund-a-Need investment helps keep food assistance, counseling, parenting education, housing navigation, public-benefits enrollment, emergency preparedness, disaster recovery, and crisis support available throughout the year.

More Than a Night Out

A ticket to Mountain Affair is more than admission to an event.

It can help put food on a neighbor’s table. It can connect a parent with counseling before stress becomes a crisis. It can help a family understand its options after a disaster. And it can keep trusted advocates available when a resident feels unsure where to turn.

Every week, Mountain Community Resources welcomes hundreds of community members for various services such as our weekly food distribution.

Merritt’s story illustrates the difference that kind of support can make. Mountain Community Resources could not undo the damage to Merritt’s home or erase the pressures facing her family. But its staff could deeply listen, help her identify resources, and remain beside her as her needs changed.

That is what community care looks like: not a single intervention, but a relationship that helps someone keep moving forward.

When San Lorenzo Valley residents fill the room at Mountain Affair, they make that relationship possible for the next neighbor who needs it.