Questions swirl around abrupt closures of two key homeless services
Last week, Santa Cruz County suddenly learned that two local social safety net programs aimed at homelessness faced peril.
The Downtown Streets Team, a nonprofit organization that offers case management work, gift cards and support resources to people experiencing homelessness in exchange for community maintenance work, announced it was ending its efforts in each of its 16 California jurisdictions. The organization’s executive director seemed to implicate the political climate, in which social safety net organizations are increasingly struggling to secure state and federal funding.
More mysterious was the news that the Mental Health Client Advocacy Network, or MHCAN, had abruptly shut its doors at the end of August. MHCAN is one of the county’s only drop-in day service centers for people with self-disclosed mental illness and who often experienced homelessness. The closure was both quiet and shocking: The organization had been in the news over the summer as proposed county budget cuts nearly ended the program. The staff and its clients had successfully lobbied the county elected officials to fund it for another year.
The organization’s board of directors fired the executive director, Tyler Starkman, and District 3 County Supervisor Justin Cummings said despite receiving a year’s worth of funding, MHCAN had run into financial issues. Staff at the organization told Lookout they haven’t been paid since mid-July.
Danette Lawrence, board chair at MHCAN, as well as other staff and board members declined Lookout’s requests for clarity. “There is no statement from MHCAN or the board of directors at this time,” Lawrence said via text on Friday.
Cummings said his office was scrambling to sit down with MHCAN’s board of directors and political leaders in the city of Santa Cruz to better understand how the organization that just received funding has been unable to pay staff or continue offering services.
“We want to make sure we’re working with trustworthy organizations, so we want to get to the bottom of this,” Cummings told me.
In a story to be published tomorrow, several staff members at MHCAN said because they haven’t been paid, they’ve run into severe hardship, including medical and residency issues. MHCAN has offered no timeline on when it may reopen, or if reopening is possible at all.
OF NOTE
Organizing against police surveillance: A new grassroots group, Get The Flock Out, has organized to oppose the use of Flock Safety surveillance cameras in Santa Cruz, Watsonville and Capitola. The push comes as Flock, whose cameras are powered by artificial intelligence, has come under increased scrutiny as federal immigration agents access the data, and as Watsonville prepares to renew a two-year contract with the company and nearly double its camera count from 20 to 37.
About that mosquito ballot measure: Property owners throughout Santa Cruz County are receiving ballots to weigh in on a proposed fee hike that would raise more than $1.1 million per year for the Santa Cruz County Mosquito and Vector Control office. As my colleague Hillary Ojeda reports, officials say the extra revenue is needed to address growing concerns over invasive species and disease prevention.
Capitola tempers ambitions for Cliff Drive overhaul: The plan to renovate Cliff Drive in Capitola, between the village and the city’s western boundary, is being narrowed for now after city officials severely underestimated the cost.
More hot labor summers? As Max Chun reports, new research from UC Santa Cruz and UCLA shows that more than 80% of the workers polled between 18 and 34 years old said they were open to unionizing. This might come as no surprise as unions have grown locally, from Bookshop Santa Cruz and Starbucks, to a new attempt at Verve Coffee Roasters.
POINTS FOR PARTICIPATION
Watsonville to decide on whether to expand Flock surveillance: The Watsonville City Council will meet Tuesday and decide whether it wants nearly double the number of AI-powered surveillance cameras it has throughout the city. The cameras have become a flashpoint nationally as the camera vendor, Flock Safety, has come under fire for allowing surveillance data access to federal immigration agents. The city council meets at 4:30 p.m.
Santa Cruz City Council to decide on appeal of Workbench project, redesign of San Lorenzo Park: The city council will determine the fate of a proposed 67-unit development at 1811 Mission St. The project, designed by local architecture and development firm Workbench and tailored to UC Santa Cruz students, will replace three one-story houses along one of the city’s major corridors.
The council will also vote on a conceptual redesign of San Lorenzo Park to include more amenities such as pickleball and basketball courts. However, residents have pushed back against the prospect of removing the park’s existing pond. The city council convenes the public portion of its meeting at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
County supervisors hear about lab closure plans, consider banning nitrous oxide sales: After supervisors agreed to fund the county’s radiology and blood lab services until the fall, county staff is recommending the officials move forward with a full closure of the services due to budget constraints.
Supervisor Kim De Serpa (District 2) is also proposing the county ban the sale and distribution of nitrous oxide, also known as whippets or laughing gas. De Serpa’s office says the drug has become increasingly abused and that the county should follow the lead of Humboldt and Orange counties in banning its sale. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
Capitola looks to ban filtered cigarette sales: Speaking of vice bans, the Capitola City Council will vote on Thursday on an ordinance that would finalize the ban on filtered tobacco product sales within its borders. The ban, which follows the model set by Santa Cruz County last year, would go into effect in January 2027. The City of Santa Cruz also banned filtered tobacco products sales earlier this year. The Capitola City Council opens its meeting up to the public at 6 p.m.